Many small business owners believe that hiring a Website designer is the first step in creating or updating a Website. This is a misconception that can cost you time, money and oftentimes a lot of frustration. Here are five reasons why you should plan your Website content before you even start interviewing designers.

1. It's not their job.
Website designers are graphic artists. They create the look and feel or "skin" of a Website: e.g., its page layouts, color schemes, typography, and other graphic elements. Rarely, if ever, do independent Website designers recommend content or get involved in the content planning process. It simply isn't their job or expertise.

If you need help planning the types of pages, features, functions and information you want on your Website, you'll be far better served hiring a content specialist who can assess your goals and objectives, research at least a few dozen peer sites, discuss content possibilities with you, and perhaps even write your material. You can also stop by www.websiteplannerpro.com and see about getting a content planning workbook designed specifically for your business.

2. Content planning guides your choice of designers.
Website designers differ greatly in their skills, talents, and experience. Without determining in advance exactly what you want to include on your site, you may be seduced by an attractive portfolio or a low-price bid into hiring one who simply isn’t capable of fulfilling your current or short-term future needs.

Perhaps nowhere does this happen more often than with homeowner association Websites, as Jason King, owner of CondoSites.net, can well attest. “Many HOA board members use a volunteer or local acquaintance to build their community Website, only to discover later that features like dues payment systems, discussion forums, and electronic forms are over that person’s head. It’s a shame, because specialists like me not only make those things surprisingly affordable, but easy to manage.”

The importance of using a content plan to screen for the right designer can’t be overemphasized. One of the most common and costly scenarios small business owners encounter is having to hire another, more capable Website designer later to fix or entirely redo what the first one did poorly.

3. Form (and cost) follows function.
Good Website design is always driven by the owner's goals and objectives. A good content planning process will help you clarify what these are for you, so you can evaluate content ideas for their potential helpfulness and then guide your designer accordingly.

For example, if you're building a dental practice, you might consider including a database-connected free offer contact form for new patients. If your practice is full, you may not need it; but you may consider it worthwhile to include submittable e-forms, an appointment-setting widget, or a bill-pay system to reduce your operating costs.

4. Comprehensive plan, comprehensive quote.
The cost of building a Website is a concern for virtually everyone. You want an accurate quote from the start and you want your designer to stick to it. Realistically, this can only happen by providing him or her with a comprehensive plan: one that lists all the pages, features and functions you want, ideally in order of priority, at the start of the project.

The all-too-common alternative–arriving at an oral agreement with your designer after only one or two casual conversations–opens the door to scope creep: asking for substantial additions or changes to your Website days, weeks or even months later, without being prepared to pay for the extra time they’ll require to implement.

5. An invaluable project management tool.
Creating a small business Website can be a complex undertaking for everyone involved: the designer, the builder, the copywriter, and the owner. When you consider that, in most cases, each person on the team has other responsibilities to attend to in addition to your site, it’s easy to see how little tasks or details can get missed.

A detailed content plan minimizes missteps and omissions. It provides each team member with both a schedule of “to do” items and a status report of completed ones, which ultimately ensures that your Website is truly complete as planned at launch.

Want to learn more about Website content planning or Website planning in general? Visit www.websiteplannerpro.com. You'll find other helpful articles here and you can always contact us with any questions you may have.