This document provides an overview and guide for planning an effective website. It emphasizes the importance of thorough planning before development begins. The planning process should include defining marketing strategy and buyer personas, determining site functionality and content types, designing site architecture and navigation, choosing technology and platforms, and bringing all elements together in a project specification for developers. Careful planning helps avoid issues, ensures the site meets goals and user needs, and justifies the upfront costs and time invested.

1. The Essential Guide
to Website Planning
Strategy • Content • Design • Functionality
serioussem.com

2. Table Of Contents
o Introduction
What is good planning?
Why planning is invaluable
o Marketing Strategy
Buyer Personas
Content Creation
Social Media
o Site Functionality
Gathering Information
o Content Types
Modules
Details Matter
o Site Architecture
Site Navigation
o Site Interface Design
Wireframes
Web Design
o Technology Choices
Content Management Systems
eCommerce
Marketing Tools
o Bringing it all Together
The QA Process – Is this it?
Summary and Next Steps
Serious SEM integrates
your Marketing
with your Website
• Attract Newcomers
• Engage Visitors
• Convert Leads
• Amaze Customers
Research & Strategy Content
SEO Social Media
Lead Generation Administration
serioussem.com

3. Introduction2 Introduction2
serioussem.com
Your organization has developed. You now have a clearer thought
of what works with your site, what you might want to achieve. It's
time another site. Be that as it may, in the energy of a new venture
there is regularly a hurry to start function as quickly as time
permits. Very regularly, an absence of arranging produces
disillusioning outcomes.
What is Good Planning?
A complete planning phase to your project must consider the
following:
Marketing Strategy
Each web venture should start with a strong comprehension of
your target market, what they are searching for, and how they
utilize the web. This understanding must be utilized to make the
establishment for an effective site.
Site Functionality
It isn't sufficient to realize what you need your site to fulfill for you.
You should likewise envision how a guest to your site will need to
connect with it.
User Experience Design
A positive client interaction is a basic component of site achievement.
You should lead research to address the issues and wishes of your
guests, from visual outline to ease of use.
Technology Choices
There is plenty of innovation decisions accessible in the field of a web
plan. You have to investigate the best items accessible to accomplish
your objectives.
Why Planning Is Invaluable
You may think that its difficult to legitimize submitting the greater part of this time and these
assets to your ventureprior to any advancement starts. Cautious arranging, however, will more
than legitimize the cost, and you'll be positive about your choices. Likewise, issues that could convey
your venture to a granulating end can without much of a stretch be stayed away from in the event
that they are distinguished ahead of time.
Arranging additionally offers the chance to make sense of precisely what you need your site to do
as well as precisely how you need it to look while your alternatives are still completely open.
When you begin the outline and advancement of your site, you start to confine yourself in light of
what has as of now been done. You may end up pushing ahead with a site you don't care for, in spite
of the fact that you've put so much time and cash into it as of now.

4. Introduction3
serioussem.com
At long last, arranging tells people precisely what it is that you do need. You may have a
reasonable picture of your future site in your brain, yet lamentably your designer is (presumably)
not a mind reader. In the event that you devote an opportunity to creating an unmistakable and
finish plan of your site, it will make it simpler for your engineer to construct precisely what you
need. Be set up to invest impressive energy in discussion with the site engineer.
Marketing Strategy
A standout amongst the most well-known all inclusive oversights made by organizations is to add
online networking symbols to their site, and consider that promoting. In the event that the
objective of your site is to draw in guests and change over them into drives, clients, customers, and
promoters, at that point you have to actualize a strong advertising methodology to ensure your
site is tending to your objective market.
Buyer Personas
Your site is the substance of your organization on the web, it basically
speaks to your identity and what you do. It is totally common to settle
on choices in light of how you need your organization to be seen by
others. As far as we can tell, this is the wrong approach. You ought to
rather take a gander at your objective market, and characterize your
purchaser personas. Attempt to see your business through your
purchaser persona's eyes and consider their objectives and conduct. In
the event that you assemble your site in view of the end client, you will
have an awesome shot of pulling in and changing over them to customers
or clients.
Ask yourself these questions when creating buyer personas:
• Who are they (demographics, job position, daily activities, personality)?
• What are their needs and how can we address them?
• What do they value the most?
• Where do they go for their information?
• What keywords would they use to search for a company like ours?
To genuinely use your personas, you have to consider them genuine individuals. To help fulfill this
include a name and a photograph to each of your personas. The making of value personas will
prompt a genuine showcasing procedure, more deals, and more joyful customers.
Content Creation
The following stage in the process is to build up an arrangement for making content for your
purchaser personas to appreciate, gain from, as well as offer. This sort of substance can enable
you to exhibit your insight into your field, draw in new guests, and rank better in web indexes for
your focused on catchphrases. Giving your group of onlookers connecting with and accommodating
substance will take them back to your site what's more, increment change rates.

5. Marketing Strategy4
serioussem.com
Types of content include:
• Web content
• Blog Posts
• eBooks or Whitepapers
• Case Studies
• Free templates
• Videos or Webinars
• Podcasts
Social Media
Verbal exchange has dependably been the most valuable (and
spending neighborly) promoting instrument around. This is the
reason utilizing web-based social networking is essential to your
business' prosperity. Make sense of which systems are most
utilized by your purchaser personas and increment your nearness
on every one. While examining the format and plan of your site
with your designer, make sure to incorporate online networking
catches on every single page. Demand that your substance must
be anything but difficult to share on different systems. In the
event that conceivable, attempt to make a group for your
present and future clients/customers where they can cooperate
with each other. By thinking of a strong promoting methodology
to start with, you will be ready to start your web extend in the
correct attitude for meeting your objectives.
Site Functionality
Since you initially chosen to re-fabricate your site, you've most likely
invested a great deal of energy considering what usefulness you
need your site to have. As it were, what you need your
site to do.
Gathering Information
When deciding what your website will offer users, consider
these questions:
• Who are your users?
• What are they looking for?
• What are the key features of your website?.
• What will make your site different from the competition?
• What are the key components that your site simply could not
launch without?
You may think that its favorable to dispatch your site with as it were
the basic usefulness set up. Along these lines, you can assemble a
faithful gathering of clients who will encourage informal
advancement, while you create and include extra elements based
client input.

6. Content Types5
serioussem.com
You will likewise need to arrange out the sorts of substance that your site will incorporate. This
is a frequently disregarded bit of the arranging procedure, yet it can be instrumental to getting
what you imagined. For instance, your site may include:
• Blogs
• News articles
• Videos
• Products
• Customer testimonials
These are all marginally unique sorts of substance, and each has its own particular fields, sees,
and designs. You should attempt to be as particular as conceivable with respect to what separates
these diverse sorts of substance.
Modules
This advancement work not just goes toward consistently enhancing the center stages themselves;
it is additionally coordinated toward building discretionary bits of usefulness that are called
modules, expansions, modules, or additional items, contingent upon the group. Notwithstanding
what you call them, these pieces can possibly give a great part of the usefulness you need, without
the need to manufacture it starting with no outside help. As it were, you won't need to reexamine
the wheel for the motivations behind your venture.
Be that as it may, it is basic to survey the modules you will require before you start advancement.
A few may not be good with each other; others will not have to be as often as possible refreshed.
This research ought to be finished with the assistance of your improvement accomplice, who will
have the experience with the stage and its group important to convey suitable suggestions.
Details Matter
While numerous sites share comparative characteristics, they don't all look and act a similar way.
Be exact with your directions. The more detail you give, the less shot there is that your engineers
will digress from what you have as a main priority. For instance, instead of saying "I need a blog,"
list all the components your blog page ought to have, for example,
• Multiple authors
• A comment box for logged in users
• Rating system
• An RSS feed
• Links to share posts on social bookmarking sites
• Images – maybe even videos
With a list like the one above, you will have given your developers a checklist that they can
use to create this portion of your site. Be prepared to include information like this for every page.

7. Site Architecture6
serioussem.com
Site Navigation
The initial phase in this procedure ought to be to make an entire site outline. This will figure out
where each bit of substance should exist inside the structure of the site. While experiencing this
with our customers, we normally put forth the accompanying inquiries:
• What information do you want to present to users?
• How do you want your site be structured?
• How will your users navigate through the site?
• How are your competitors organizing their site, what do you like/dislike about it?
The subsequent stage is to make an interpretation of this chain of importance successfully into
site route. Planning route includes numerous standards, including memory. For instance, a great
many people can just recall a rundown of seven things, so route with a greater number of
alternatives than this can be overpowering.
Route that is excessively numerous levels profound is
additionally difficult to oversee. When arranging route, you'll
need to make beyond any doubt you are gathering things into
coherent classifications. Try not to utilize your organization's
inner language to mark menus also, pages. Set aside the
opportunity to investigate the phrasing that your clients
would utilize. In a perfect world, you need to outline a site
that is totally natural. With each component of your site,
inquire as to whether it will enable your clients to achieve
their objectives, or on the off chance that it will be a deterrent.
Site Interface Design
The next step in the process is to specify how your site should look and feel. This stage requires
more than deciding on a blue or red background. It means designing a website that is engaging,
easy-to-use, and yes, attractive as well.
WireFrames
We frequently start the plan period of a venture by making point by point, interactive wireframes
of the site in view of the choices we've effectively made simultaneously (the elements of the site,
their relative significance, and so forth.). This gives a chance to make a usable, sorted out interface,
some time recently agonizing over visual outline components. Consider wireframes the plans of
another house, they enable you to see the format of the site all in all before you start including
a plan.
This procedure obliges you to settle on choices with respect to the situation of components on the
page, their relative size and significance, their general convenience, and numerous different
variables. Content ought to be masterminded on the page with the goal that clients can without
much of a stretch look over it. Utilize headings and records to separate points, incorporate
pictures, and be as brief as could be expected under the circumstances. Ensure you get ready for an
unmistakable transformation way, with clear invitations to take action.

8. Site Interface Design7
serioussem.com
Design
Once the fundamental format of your site is built up,
you should begin considering how you need it to look
& feel to guests when they initially observe each page.
Configuration can be the most tedious period of any
web project, as there are a great many choices for each
choice that must be made. In this way, you ought to be
as particular and nitty gritty as conceivable when
conceptualizing thoughts.
Before you start making an outline, thought of a
inventive brief for the venture. In this short, answer the
following inquiries:
• Is there a specific style guide you will need to follow?
• What message/feeling should visitors receive when they first see your website?
• How do you want to be viewed online (eco friendly, safe, edgy, modern, etc.)?
• What are your buyer personas looking for in a design?
When you have those inquiries replied, do some exploration. Pick between three to at least five
sites that bounce out at you and record what you do, and don't, care for about the plan.
Consider everything about the site, including its pictures, hues, usefulness, route,
indeed, even down to the text dimension.
Technology Choices
Each web project is one of a kind with its own arrangement of objectives, difficulties, and extreme
vision. Along these lines, there isn't a solitary "one size fits all" arrangement, which is the reason
you ought to pick the innovation your web project uses with mind.
Content Management Systems
A Content Management System (CMS) is an interface based on top of a web application structure.
It enables clients to effortlessly alter and add different kind of substance to a site. Today, many
individuals swing to (CMS) since they are anything but difficult to utilize, and encourage visit
content updates. With an easy to understand CMS available to you, there's no compelling reason to
sit tight for your IT individual to do site refreshes for you. You can roll out improvements when you
need to make them.
In spite of the fact that CommonPlaces creates many ventures in the prevalent Drupal CMS, we will
dependably prescribe utilizing the best CMS for the job needing to be done, as opposed to
endeavoring to fit a square peg in a round opening. A portion of the CMS's we work with incorporate
Drupal, WordPress, Magento, EzPublish, HubSpot, CMO and Accrisoft Freedom Software. Every stage
has its own individual qualities what's more, we make it our business to guarantee that your site is
assembled utilizing the best stage for your business.

9. Technology Choices8
serioussem.com
Ecommerce
For an eCommerce based business, the stage you run your
shopping cart on is similarly as critical to your site as the
battery in your PC. An inadequately planned and oversaw
shopping basket can cause guests to keep running for the
slopes. It is vital to glance back at your purchaser personas
and do examine on how they explore through a shopping
basket, and what kind of interface they feel most good
with. You're shopping basket ought to be three things;
consistent, secure, and traversable.
While many CMS's have their own trade abilities, it is prudent
to utilize a web based business stage, for example, Magento,
to assemble your shopping basket. Magento is an open source
stage that furnishes clients with the capacity to effectively
scale and grow their truck from one item to thousands
without evolving stages.
Whatever apparatuses you utilize, ensure they fit your needs and spending plan. Remember that
including diverse items and stages can turn out to be exorbitant. Be practical when you are
arranging furthermore, picking your site's innovation, and remain on track with your definitive
objectives.
Marketing Tools
The weight to give point by point and precise data on guests, leads, and
clients is developing each day. With the change from customary
showcasing to computerized promoting, it has never been more
imperative to be able to screen and break down clients to comprehend
their conduct. Picking the correct instruments to help your business,
and promoting group, meet their objectives has never been more vital.
There are web-based social networking administration apparatuses,
for example, HootSuite, which enable advertisers to calendar and
screen online networking action. Lead sustaining and lead era
apparatuses, as HubSpot, are getting to be progressively prominent as
they give definite data on guests furthermore, give the chance to keep
in contact with these contact through work processes and email
crusades. A standout amongst the most important suite of devices,
for a wide assortment of showcasing errands, is Google Apps.
These can be redone under your own space name and, on the grounds
that they're cloud based, can be utilized by your group practically
anyplace.

10. Bringing it all Together9
serioussem.com
Now, a large portion of your arranging work is finished. The last stride is to bring the greater part
of your work together and make one Project Specification, which you can hand over to your
(extremely appreciative) designers. In light of the work you have done, this "Spec" ought to include:
• Marketing Strategy
• Detailed descriptions of desired functionality and
content types
• Site map
• Site wireframes
• Site designs
• A choice of platform/CMS
• A list of needed modules/extensions
Regardless of whether you build up these pieces all alone, or exploit CommonPlaces' entire
arranging administrations, these archives ought to make a reasonable photo of your future site.
This implies that improvement will be speedier, and the last outcome will be significantly nearer to
your underlying goals than if you gave your engineers several portrayals on the back of a napkin.
The QA Process - “Is This It?”
The arranging records that you make will be of unbelievable incentive all through the
advancement time. In any case, they will substantiate themselves important again toward the
consummation of your venture, at the point when the time wants that basic yet frequently
disregarded stride - QA (quality affirmation).
In the event that you have ever performed quality confirmation on an expansive scale, you'll
realize that it can be extraordinarily testing. It requires incredible
tolerance, fixation, and tender loving care. Luckily, your
arranging reports will be there to offer assistance.
At this stage, take out the arranging reports you made, and
utilize them as an agenda as you take a gander at the completed item.
Does it incorporate the majority of the usefulness you indicated? Are
the pages sorted out in the right way? In the energy of seeing your new
site, it can be not entirely obvious these little yet basic points of
interest. Fortunately, you're arranging details ought to incorporate
the greater part of the usefulness of your site, how it should work,
and how your site should look. Utilize this as a diagram as you move
through your QA procedure. QA likewise includes intermittent item
testing by select clients. You have to draw in the conclusions of those
who frequently utilize the site

11. 10
serioussem.com
Summary and Next Steps
Great arranging keeps projects on time and on spending plan.
An intensive arranging stage additionally guarantees that
you get precisely what you were imagining. One of the best
challenges for web designers is deciphering your
needs and then needs into a site. You can help your
engineer conquer this impediment by plainly laying out
what you need before improvement starts.
An extraordinary engineer can guide you through the
arranging procedure to guarantee your venture comes in on
time and on spending plan. Call us and we'll begin
immediately.
So, what’s next...
While building up a site you can't overlook search engine optimization (SEO). Actualizing
Search engine optimization strategies on your site will enable you to ascend in the rankings and
get found by potential clients.
Bringing it all Together