Build it and they will come??

What does Website Development mean?

Website development traditionally refers to the coding part of creating a webpage, but as online solutions have become more and more complex, the term web development has become shorthand for a raft of development techniques.

To the marketeer, having a website means 24/7/365 days a year exposure at arguably the lowest cost per thousand touch point in your marketing plan….so it’s worth knowing how to get it right.

So how do you start a web development project?

The first thing to decide is what you want your visitors to do and what you want to tell them. Being mindful that visitors’ intentions might not marry up with your objectives – you might want visitors to purchase, they may want to price compare – you need to ensure that your site supports all the decisions a visitor may make. If you already have a website, a Usability Study that records visitors’ responses to set tasks can validate the positive and negative elements of a sites’ usability, and help inform any updates that need to be made.

The next stage is referred to as “Information Architecture”, where we determine how best to take your visitor through your content in a non-linear way (which can be quite a task if you have a large product portfolio or complicated service offering).

The result is a master plan for the website – known as the functional specification. This document explains to everyone involved how the website fits together and specifies how it all works. It’s vital to get this stage right, as it becomes the foundation on which everything is built.

As soon as the specification is approved, it’s time to start designing. There’s a lot for a digital designer to consider such as will the design work across different platforms? Will it be useable and fit for purpose?

So you’ve got a website already, what more do you need to know?

That technology never stands still. Developers are improving coding techniques and building functionality that was once thought impossible in the online space. A website is a living and breathing thing, and for visitors and search engines to value your content and keep coming back, it needs to offer them a reason to return.

A successful ongoing web development strategy, like all marketing endeavours, should be validated by consumer insight. Website analytics, Usability Studies, creative and functionality testing all offer transparent ways to monitor and learn from online activity. Sometimes the simplest change can make an astonishing difference… take the well-told example of a major eCommerce website’s decision to remove its pre-purchase registration form, which they claim earned them $300m in increased sales!

Contact McCann-i

‘Build it and they will come’ is a nice thought but the digital space is competitive and increasingly sophisticated. Creating a site that delivers a fulfilling and effortless user experience is a process that we’re passionate about. If you are interested in developing a new website or you’d like to know more about improving the customer journey of your existing site, then please call or email to arrange a meeting with:

Claire Banks
Head of Interactive
McCann-i
Claire.banks@europe.mccann.com
07816 271 162