What Web Developers Need to Create a Perfect Website

In my last article, I discussed 9 reasons why you need a website. Now, Let’s look at choosing a web developer and what web developers need in order to create your perfect website. This is critical as poor expectations or lack of commitment in this area is a web developer’s pain point as it hampers productivity, causes project delays, scope creep, and quality compromise. This is neither good for you or the developer, so having a clear understanding of what is expected upfront ensures a more seamless process.

As you may have guessed, defining a perfect website depends on what your business is. However, several attributes of a website make it a hit or a miss.  We break this down as a defined process flow, content, and appeal. At the very least, if your website looks good enough for visitors to stay and explore while captivating them with engaging content that is readily understood and easily accessed, we can say you have a good website. To achieve this, you should not just understand what developers need to create your website but also be able to deliver these things in a timely manner.

Never assume that the developer is as in touch with your business and goals as you are. Your biggest task is to communicate your objectives. Knowing what the website is supposed to do also helps the website developer optimize your website for conversions. So, here is what web developers need and will expect from you to create a perfect website:

Have a Website Strategy

Before you engage a web developer, you should have some idea about your website strategy, as well as the level of competency your developer needs to have. If not, take some time to think about what you want your website to achieve. This will help you to determine the type of web developer you need. If you are not able to work through your website strategy on your own, choose a web developer that will be able to walk you through the process.

As a guideline, the following provides 6 key questions you should consider along with some examples. Once you have completed this exercise, be sure that all your requirements and expectations are included in your web development contract.  The web developer will likely highlight his or her expectations and requirements for you to deliver so that the project can stay on target.

1. Why – There are many reasons why you may need a website but be sure to understand your own pain point.
2. What – Understanding why will help you determine what you will need your website to do and what you will need to include as requirements.  This will help you determine the features and functionalities you need.
3. When – Explore this area and determine, among other things, when you want the website to launch and when certain features on the site will activate and terminate, such as campaigns, etc.
4. Where – Be sure to understand where your content will fit to achieve your goals.
5. Who – It is important to understand who your target audience will be as well as who your competitors are. Who you choose as your web developer is also key here.
6. How – Here you can address how you see this addressing your pain point and how you will go about implementing your website.

Think About Your Brand

Since your website will be a representation of your brand, this should be included at the strategic level. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Company and domain names – These should be directly related.
2. Tagline – Choose a tagline that fully represents your brand
3. Colors – Be consistent with your brand colors throughout your website
4. Message(s) – Consider your brand message(s) when developing content
5. Hosting – Consider what features and functionality you will need and ensure you have proper web hosting to support your brand.
6. Email – You should consider a branded email that reflects your domain name.
7. Marketing – Consider the type of internet marketing your brand will need to be successful.
8. SEO – To deliver a good SEO strategy, you will need to decide who your competitors are and which keywords are relevant to your brand.

What Web Developers Need Most is Content

Once you have identified your website strategy, including your online brand strategy, provide the flesh of the website in the form of content.  It is important to note that the responsibility of providing content will be yours unless otherwise agreed.  The fact is most web developers do not have the time or level of copy-creation experience that convinces visitors to hang around landing pages and read through what you’re selling. However, some do and those that are not able to cover content creation usually work alongside content creators so do not hesitate to ask. You do not want to suffer delays in your website delivery because of a lack of content.

Below is an example of the type of content that you might be expected to deliver. While this is not a comprehensive list it should give you an idea of what web developers need to create a perfect website. Keep in mind that most visitors spend very little time on your website, so getting to the point should be somewhere up there on your list of priorities – right above the need to show visitors that you can write great essays.

1. Logo
2. Written Content – for each page such as
   • About us
   • Services
   • Contact
   • Testimonials
   • Blog
   • Privacy Policy
   • Terms of Use
3. Payment Gateway Information
4. Shopping Cart Details
   • Pricing
   • Product Description
   • Shipping Information

Images

The images you put up on your website get more attention than the words thereon; make that work in your favor. Sharp images carefully blended into the theme of the website make it easier to capture the attention of an otherwise preoccupied visitor. For product sales focused websites (e-commerce) investing in product photoshoots makes all the difference. There are likely many other websites selling the same product, therefore, your product must be presented with images that are sharp, clean and clear.

What Now?

So now that we have established what web developers need to create a perfect website you can plan for your website. You can also rest assured that, if delivered, the final design and features meet your objectives. From a web developer’s point of view, a client that provides these automatically adds motivation towards the completion of their website. While there are other things you can look up and provide, focusing on the things I have mentioned above gives the developer enough space to be creative with your project.