Website Design Checklist

Beginning a new website project can be a daunting and intimidating task. There are so many moving parts it is easy to overlook some of them. This doesn’t just go for the web designer; it goes for the client as well. In an effort to help make the process a little less frightening, here is Foster’s website project checklist for the client…

• Domain Names
  • Do you have a list of all relevant domain names?
  • Does your company own the domain(s) and have access to the domain registration info?
  • How many domains point to this website?
  • Would changing any of those domains impact other areas of your business such as company email?
• Site Security
  • Does your website require an SSL?
  • Password protection?
  • Other?
• Target Audience
  • What kind of audience will the site be developed for?
  • What kind of information are they looking for?
  • What kinds of actions should they be taking?
  • Is any usage or analytic data available for the web design team to review?
• Keywords/SEO
  • Compile a list of keywords and key phrases you think your website should be targeting
  • Are these words the same as what your audience might use to search for your products or services? Be sure to put yourself in your customer’s shoes.
  • Be sure to consider this list when auditing and compiling your website content
• Audit Existing Content
  • How much is staying?
  • How much is being removed?
  • How much needs just minor editing?
  • How much new content needs to be generated?
  • Don’t forget to include logos, images and videos in this process
• Site Structure
  • Does the site already have a sitemap to follow?
  • How will changes in your content impact the way the site is organized?
• Creating New Content
  • Are you developing the content internally?
  • Do you need to enlist a copywriter for partial or full copywriting assistance?
• Existing Site Assets and Functionality
  • Is there any data or functionality that needs to be carried over?
  • Do you already have a web analytics solution in place that should be retained?
• New Functional Requirements
  • Is there any new functionality the new site should be capable of?
  • Does the site need to communicate with any backend systems?
  • How will ecommerce transactions be handled and processed?
  • Who with your organization should receive web form submissions and notifications?
• Technology Requirements
  • What technology requirements (if any) does the new site have? For instance, should the site be developed on the Microsoft .Net platform, or .PHP?
  • Do you need a printable version of the site?
  • A mobile version?
• Content Management
  • How much of the site’s content will you need to edit on a regular basis?
  • How often does the content change?
  • What kind of content changes will you be making?
    • Product data, simple text updates, adding/removing whole pages, and images to a gallery, etc.?
  • Who within your organization will be responsible for these updates?
  • Does content need to be approved by other in your organization before it goes live?
• Hosting
  • Where will the site be hosted?
  • If switching to a new host, does the new host support the technology the new site will use?
• Deadline
  • When does the new site need to launch?
  • What is the plan in the event there are any delays?
• Budget
  • What is the budget available for this project?
  • If there is not adequate budget for this project, can some of the features and functionality be phased in?
• Social Media
  • What social media does your company participate in?
  • How will social media be integrated into the new website?
  • Do you own and have control over all the usernames and passwords for those accounts?
  • Do you need to create them from scratch?
• Marketing
  • How will you promote the site to your existing users and customers?
  • How will you attract new users and customers?
• Project Management
  • Who will be the main point of contact during the project for your organization?
  • Who has the power to make decisions and approve project milestones?
  • Have you assigned tasks to other team members from your organization to assist with the project?
  • Do they understand their roles and responsibilities?