When you are building your website using WordPress, there are a lot of basics to remember that can make building your website a lot smoother. In this series, I’m going to run through some of the ABCs of your website using WordPress.

A Great Plan

One of the great things about WordPress, other than the fact that it’s free, is that it’s easy to install and easy to use. But this ease of use doesn’t mean that you should forget to plan your website before you start building. One mistake that a lot of new WordPress website builders makes is that they charge ahead with the website building, without taking the time to consider what they are building and the best way to build it. Whether you are building a brand new website or you are are upgrading or expanding an existing website you should begin by planning out your website from the very start.

When you are planning your website, start with the 3 W’s (Who? What? Why? )

So how do you start planning your website?

First start with 3 W’s:

• Who will be visiting my website?- Every website caters to a specific audience. Unless you’re the next Google, Facebook, or Yahoo! your website is not going to appeal to everyone. So part of successfully planning your website includes figuring out who will be visiting your website. Determining your audience will help you plan important aspects of your website including your website design, content, and marketing.
• What are the goals for building, redesigning, or expanding my website? Once you’ve determined the purpose for your website, how do you know whether you’ve accomplished it? One way to develop concrete, actionable goals that are related to the purpose of your website. So if the purpose of your website is to get more clients for your business, how many new clients would accomplish your goal? What timeframe is reasonable to accomplish this goal?
• Why do I have a website?- Every website needs to have a reason to exist. Why do you want to build a website? Why did you build your current website? To make money? To get more clients? To share information? The reason(s) why are the foundation of your website. The purpose of your website will effect everything about it from your audience, your website design, your content, and your marketing.

What are the benefits of planning your website beforehand?

While you can certainly set up a WordPress website in an hour or less. Taking a bit of time beforehand to plan your pages, figure out your navigation, decide on your content, and map out your marketing strategy will save you time, money, and effort in the long run. Planning saves you time and effort because you can avoid potential mistakes before you make them. Planning also keeps you on track when you’re building your website. Instead of wondering what to do next, your plan will tell what comes next. And of course planning can save you money. WordPress is free, but the services and tools you may need to set up your website may not be. This includes services domain names, hosting, mailing list services, and ecommerce services. Doing the research and planning before you start will save you money in the final result.

Remember that your website plan is a guideline…not set in stone

A great plan is a great tool. But remember that it’s exactly that…a tool. Your plan is there to guide you through the process. But doesn’t mean that your plan can’t change or expand as necessary. And remember that while planning is a great thing…perpetual planning is not. Don’t be afraid to make your plan, implement it, and then make additions and corrections when necessary.

One of the tools that I have available for my students to help them with this process is the Website Planning List . This downloadable planning guide can help you plan everything about your website from, design, website structure, to marketing and budget. If you’re planning on building your own website, you can download a copy of the planning guide here . It will come in handy no matter how you’re planning to build your website.

Download the Website Planning List

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