MONICA PITTS
MARKETING MATTERS time-
Tips for a saving Website Redo
I t doesn ’ t matter if this is your first time can repurpose and recycle to make into or your 50th time doing your website . website content . It ’ s so much easier to start It doesn ’ t matter if you ’ re doing it by with something than to start with nothing . yourself or if you ’ re doing it with the Even if you ’ re going to your vendor ’ s website to get photos of your products and ser- help of a company or a freelancer . The amount of time it takes you to get through vices or product descriptions , you don ’ t have this project is going to come down to one to leave them exactly as they are . You can thing : how organized you are . always dress them up and make them more your own .
0 . Get Organized
We ’ re actually going to start with step zero because if you aren ’ t organized , your website project will go nowhere fast . Think back to when you were a kid and got tasked with a team project . Those projects prepared us for situations like these in the workplace . In those projects , there were the people who didn ’ t do much of anything . Then there was the person who did almost everything . Or , you had a great , organized person who delegated and made sure everybody got their stuff done . If that was you … you are MONEY ! Because …
That ’ s the person you want to be in your website build .
1 . Create a Project Plan
Your site is a marketing bridge . And there ’ s no way you ’ d build a bridge without a blueprint and serious specifications . So first , you need to make a plan . Think of it like a blueprint for your site . Start by looking at your current site and documenting what you do and don ’ t like . Then , look at your competitors ’ sites . What pages and functionality do they offer ? You want to have similar stuff on your website . Once your research is done , make an outline of your pages . In your outline describe what will go on each page of your site . This will be your checklist when building the pages .
2 . Decide how you ’ ll get the text written for
your site .
Once you ’ ve figured out what you want on your website , you ’ ll have to decide where all the information is coming from . For example , your about page will have your mission , maybe a timeline and your staff pictures on it , so how will you get all that stuff ? First - Look at what you already have . Proposals , presentations , award submissions , and brochures are all materials you
3 . Find Your Photos
The third thing you should do is to find your photos in advance and keep them organized . It takes time to find the photos . And it ’ s easier to do it en masse than on the fly while building your pages .
4 . Name Your Photos Clearly and Logically
Naming your materials something that makes sense will save you buckets of time in the long run . With one exception … For stock photos , do not to change the file names .
Save stock photos in a logical folder structure , one folder per page , but don ’ t change the name . Changing the name of the photo makes it far more difficult to find the photo again in the stock photo library if you ever need to download the image again . For all other images , name them : [ page _ name ][ image _ description ]. jpg Name the images like you ’ re describing the photo plus the page name it ’ s intended for . For example : If it ’ s photos of staff members , name each photo the name of the page plus the name of the person in the picture . Like this : Staff _ Monica _ Pitts . jpg Your designer doesn ’ t know who Missy , Monica and Margaret are . They just know there are three pictures of ladies they don ’ t know . So make it clear .
5 . Prepare to Write Your Text
If you are responsible for writing the content for your website , you need to prep for it . If you are going to have someone else write the content for your website , you need to prep for them to do it . If you ’ re not writing it , ask for interview questions in advance . Most people are not awesome impromptu speakers . Most people have to think about what they ’ re going to say in advance . So ,
MONICA PITTS
if someone else is writing your content for you , ask for questions in advance so you can poll your team for answers . If you ’ re writing your own content … Pretend you know absolutely nothing about your company , and create an interview guide for yourself . Start by thinking about the questions that people ask you all the time about the products or services you offer . Then , consider what questions you would ask someone if you were going to buy that service . You ’ re super informed about it , so what would you ask to determine if they are the right provider for you ?
What you ’ re doing by creating these questions , even if you don ’ t answer them in an interview , is creating a rubric to check your work against . You ’ ll know when you ’ re done writing for a page because you will have fulfilled the criteria .
6 . Migrate Events , Posts , Newsletters and More
in Mass
If you already have an existing website , do not , I repeat , DO NOT manually enter all of your events , all of your posts , all of your blog posts , all of your newsletters , anything that ’ s going to stay the same with your website redo . Ok , ok . If you only have 10-20 … then it ’ s probably alright to do it by hand . But otherwise IMPORT !
8 . Outsource Part of or All of the Project
I know this may sound obvious , but outsource part or all of the project . If you outsource something that ’ s not your jam , you can focus on other things that you should and can do with this website build . Even if you ’ re not outsourcing the entire website building process , think about the things you could have somebody help you with , then outsource those . It could be professional photography , copywriting , editing , setting up the template for your site , anything . All those things are on the table for other professionals to help you handle and take a load off your shoulders so your website can get done faster . Whether you will be outsourcing or insourcing , remember you can ’ t start without a blueprint . Take the time to document your project from the start . Your plan is going to be the thing that allows you to get your website done efficiently .
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