Determine the Objectives of Your Site; Create a Statement of Purpose

The starting point for every web site should be the identification of goals and objectives. Make a list of all of the things you want your site to accomplish. Whether it's to provide information, sell your products, raise funds for your charity, drive traffic to your bricks and mortar location, or increase awareness of a topic that's important to you, it is critical that you understand all of the things you want your site to accomplish. Only once you have laid out all of the site's goals will you have the foundation to begin developing content, thinking about your user's experience, identifying the outcome you want from each visitor, and developing the metrics to measure performance of your site.

Identify Your Target Audience

Who do you want to reach; who are the likely users of your web site, and how will you draw them in? Everything you do from this point forward should be from the perspective of your users; not what you want to show them, but focus on what they will want to see. Identify user personas and develop user profiles. If your site has multiple purposes, you are likely to have more than one user profile. Make sure that you correctly assess how each will interact with your site. Put yourself in their shoes and think about what information you would need and how you would want to see it presented. Look at other web sites you like and take note of what you like about them; why do they work for you. Once you begin to understand the user experience, the development your site's structure and content should come easily.

Design a Structure For Your Web Site

Create a storyboard or wire frame; how will users navigate through your site? It must have a logical easy path. Navigation should be intuitive; users shouldn't have to spend time trying to figure out how to move from page to page. Begin to think of each user's experience as a well choreographed ballet. Anticipate what your visitors will need to accomplish their goals and provide a seamless flow in either direction as they move about your site to find what they are looking for.

Develop Great Content

Content is king; it is what will bring your users back. Think again about your user profiles. What information do they need to accomplish their objectives? Keep your content fresh and engaging. A site that doesn't add new content can have a difficult time generating repeat visitors. Most importantly, make sure your content is well written, accurate, and current.

Create A Sense Of Place; Define Your Site’s Personality

Create a visual experience that is unique to your site. So much of your users' experience will be impacted by what they see whether they are overtly aware of it or not. If your business or organization already has a strong visual identity, be sure to carry it through to your web site. Not every page on your site needs to be identical, but as users move around your site, the look and feel should be consistent so they can be certain of where they are, and importantly, when they click away.

Pulling it All Together

Obviously there are numerous other details that go into building a great web site, but without a framework defined by these five steps, it is very easy to leave gaping holes in your site that may be difficult, time consuming and expensive to fix down the road. By fully developing these five components, you will create a foundation for your site that is functional, user friendly, and will serve both your interests and those of your users.