Things To Consider

Below is a list of key areas to consider when thinking about your new website. This list is by no means exhaustive but may provide a useful insight into the types of questions that your developer may ask.

The more information we can gather up front the better, but don't worry if you don't have all of the answers right now. We work closely with all of our clients to come up with the perfect solution.

 

Type of Website

• Do you need a simple website to showcase your business services?
• Do you want to sell products online?
• Does your website need any functionality specific to your business?
• Do you require an image gallery?

Websites That You Like

• Tell us any existing sites that have a similar structure to what you want.
• Tell us any existing sites that you like the design / colour-scheme of.

 

Domain Name / Email:

Do you have an existing domain name?

• What is it? Who is it registered with? Can you provide your login details?
• Do you want to transfer it to us?

Do you require additional domain names?

Do you have email addresses set up and how do you currently (or how do you want to) access email? For example:

• Windows Mail / Outlook
• Blackberry
• iPhone

Do you want any new / additional email addresses?

• What are they?

Hosting:

Do you have a current website or hosting plan?

• Who is it hosted with? Can you provide login details?
• Do you want to transfer hosting to us?

 

Products:

Will products be listed in categories?

What information do you wish to display for each product? For example:

• Image / Larger Image link
• Description
• Price
• List of related products or 'customers also bought'
• Multiple images per product (different views, etc.)

Do you need to take additional info about products. ie. customisation etc.

Will some products have variations. ie. colour, size, single sided, double sided, etc.

Do you already have suitable product images to upload to the website?

Pricing:

Will you need to add VAT? If so can any items be VAT exempt?

Do you wish to use price breaks. ie. Items cost less individually the more you buy.

Do you need to be able to create offers

Do you want to use promotional codes?

Will this update prices on the site or the basket total?

Postage:

How do you want postage to be calculated? For example:

• Per Item
• Based on Total Amount
• Based on Weight of Orders
• Free Postage
• Price Breaks based on Volume

Any Next Day / Second Class / First Class / Courier / Time of Day Options?

Payments:

Do you wish to accept payments?

Do you have an internet merchant account and/or payment provider set up already or do you wish us to do this for you? For example:

• PayPal
• Google Checkout
• SagePay

Do you require SSL Security? This has an annual fee.

Orders:

What order / customer information do you wish to be stored for order processing / future reference?

Do you wish to print automated packing slips?

 

Social Media:

Do you want to link to any Social Media profiles such as:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• MySpace
• LinkedIn

If so do you have any profiles already set up or do you wish us to create / amend them?

Newsletters:

Do you want to be able to collect / store a list of email addresses in order to send them a regular email newsletter?

SEO:

What is your main target market?

What is your ideal search phrase to target in Search Engines? (i.e Bathrooms Manchester)

Do you want website statistics? (if so what do you wish to monitor)

 

Contact Forms:

Exactly what information do you need to be collected via contact forms (i.e name, address, email, etc.)

User Login:

Does the user need to be able to login to the site?

What tasks should the user be able to perform when logged in? For example

• Create a profile
• View order history

Admin Login:

What tasks do you want to be able to perform when you (the administrator) are logged in? For example:

• Change text, contact details and information
• Add job listings
• Message users
• Add products
• View Reports (of what?)
• View orders / customer database

User Settings:

Are there any specific web-browser settings that need to be taken into account? ie if your website users are all based within a certain company or organisation that has non-standard settings? For example:

• Will users have cookies disabled?
• Will users have javascript disabled?

Do you require support for mobile devices such as mobile phones?

Do you require support for older browsers such as Internet Explorer 6?

 

Related Design:

Do you require us to design your logo?

Do you want us to design any matching stationery? For example:

• Business cards
• Letterheads
• Brochures
• Printable Brochures / Datasheets that can be downloaded from your website
• Email Signatures / Footers