• May 26, 2010 modified: Feb, 04 2025

Planning a website

updated Feb 2025

There are many websites with pretty much the same format, ideas and even shopping cart system. To stand out from the crowd you may need to use some careful planning. Differentiate yourself from the 'plugin majority'.

Planning a website also includes deciding on the platform that best suits your needs.

Generating Ideas

There are a variety of established methods that can be used to plan your website.

Creativity and idea generation

Try to remove any obstacles to creativity. These are those subconscious blockers that can prevent us from some innovative ideas.

• We are taught to conform
• We look for a single best solution
• We try to take the most direct route
• We have a fear of failure
• We may think we were born uncreative

Professor Anna Abraham – Director of the Torrance Centre for Creativity and Talent Development "One of the biggest predictions of creativity is openness to experience."

One of the largest blockers of decision making is the myth that there is a single best solution to a problem.

Define the problem

"A problem well stated is half solved."

A few techniques that my User Interface Design students at Griffith University are taught are -:

Brainstorming

This works best in an inspirational environment. There has been some criticism of the results of sterile office brainstorming techniques. A good moderator is important.

Incubation

Just sit back and wait for an answer to pop into your head.

Personas

Personas are examples of visitors to your website. They are fictitious customers that designers use to plan functionality. The persona will contain details of the individual, their marital status, occupation, habits preferences etc.

Usability Testing

Testing whether the design is working. Don't depend on designers to judge their own designs.
Statistics can be helpful here but these are only available after the fact.

Involvement Devices

What can we build that will hold a visitor, allow them to create a relationship with you.
Can we get a subscription?

Google Analytics now measures engagement and is largely designed around engagement.

Dealing with inherent structural flaws

Systems like WordPress have inherent flaws in their structure.