3 Things That Can Go Wrong Without Proper Website Planning

Website planning is essential to getting a good business website up and running and make sure that it starts to bring you new business from the moment it launches. Some companies are so keen to get their new websites up and running that they don't pay any attention to the planning stage and as a result the websites turn out to be a disaster.

Here are three of the things that can go wrong without careful planning, all of which are easy to avoid when you plan ahead.

1. Wrong Domain Name

If you choose the wrong domain name at the start then you are struck with it for as long as your website exists. It's not great practice to change a company domain name once you have decided on one, so the simplest solution is to get it right at the start of your website planning.

You might think that the domain name is simply a matter of using your company name. However, there is more to it than this. First you have to consider which type of domain to use, whether.com,.co.uk,.biz, or any other permutation. This is important for SEO purposes depending on the location of the customers you are targeting. For example, if you are solely targeting UK customers then a.co.uk domain might be better.



As well as that, you should take time deciding on the actual name you are going to use. If your company name is very long then you might want to use an abbreviation, or you might even opt to use a keyword instead for SEO purposes. A few hours of brainstorming should be all that it takes to find the right domain for your business, but it can save you a lot of grief further down the line.

2. Unprofessional Website

An unprofessional website is the worst thing that you can end up with, but if you rush the process and don't take website planning seriously then it's a real possibility. In the planning stage you should consider such factors as choosing the right designer with the appropriate experience and a good record, as well as deciding upon the most suitable platform such as an open-source CMS like WordPress.

Your choice of designer and the amount of time you spend planning the content and the structure will directly impact the appearance of the website, the navigation and the user experience, all of which are fundamental to the success of your site.

3. Lack of Traffic

Even those companies which choose their domains carefully and plan their websites to perfection can forget about the importance of driving traffic to the website once it is up and running. The fact is that many companies only think about this once their website is up and running, but really you should start to think about this during the planning stage.

Internet marketing is the best way to drive traffic to your website, which could involve social media marketing, PPC, SEO and a number of other tactics. The reason that it is important to factor this into your planning from the beginning is because you can build special features into your site which are ready to go as soon as it launches.

For example, if you want to focus on social media marketing then you can include social media buttons alongside your blog posts and web content, and you may want a newsletter sign-up section on your website.

These are important factors to consider from the start and during the design phase so that you can start to implement internet marketing methods as soon as the site has launched to drive more traffic.

Get Your Website Right First Time

These are some of the most common problems which can affect businesses of all sizes when launching a website. However, they are easy to avoid with careful website planning. The advice is to think carefully about every stage of your website instead of jumping straight into it. That way you will help to avoid ending up with any of the above problems.

Marcus Miller is an SEO and online marketing consultant with over ten years experience promoting websites. His expertise revolves around getting people to land on your site and then getting them to do what you want when they get there.