Website plan: goals, target group and measurable success

What must your new website achieve? Who is it for? And when is the website a success? With a website plan you answer these questions before the building starts. This way everyone knows what will be made, why, and how you measure afterwards if it worked.

A website plan is the first phase of a website project. You write down the goals, the target group, the content, the functionality and the technology. After that come the design, the building and the maintenance. In the past, such a document was also called an Internet Project Plan (IPP).

Why a website plan?

Without a plan, a website project often starts with the design or with the technology. Then it turns out halfway that not everyone expects the same thing. New wishes keep coming, decisions are postponed and nobody knows exactly when the project is finished.

A website plan helps you to:

• make a clear roadmap and a planning for the whole project;
• define the scope of the project, including tasks and responsibilities;
• improve the communication between you, your colleagues and other parties;
• make choices based on your goals, not on separate wishes;
• measure after the launch if the website reaches its goals.

What is in a website plan?

Not every project needs all parts. For a small website, a plan of a few pages is enough. A large project with many features and connections needs more detail. These are the parts that usually come back.

1. Analysis

You start with a short analysis of your organisation, your competitors and, if you already have one, your current website. What works well? What is missing? And what do similar organisations do online?

Do you already have a website? Then a Website analysis & Quick Scan gives a good picture of the technical starting point.

2. Goal and target group

This is the most important part of the plan. What is the primary goal of the website? For example: getting requests or orders, giving information, finding members or volunteers, or taking work off your customer service.

Then describe who your visitors are with visitor profiles. Who are they, what are they looking for, and which questions do they have? Also make the goals measurable, for example: the number of requests via the contact form, or the number of newsletter sign-ups.

3. Content and structure

Which information goes on the website? Who writes the texts, and how often must the information be updated? The structure follows from the content: the menus, the categories and the way pages are connected to each other.

Do you need help with the texts? Then we work together with professional copywriters. Must the website appear in more languages? Then also write that down now, because a multilingual website needs a different setup.

4. Functional design (FO)

In the functional design you describe what the website must be able to do. Think of the navigation, forms, search features, login options and the interaction with the visitor. You also write down how the website works on a desktop, a tablet and a mobile phone.

5. Graphic design (GO)

The graphic design decides how the website looks. It is based on your house style. Do you not have a house style yet? Then we can bring in external professional designers. Also make sure the design of your website fits your social media.

In this phase, also include accessibility and user-friendliness. Changing it afterwards costs more time than doing it right immediately.

6. Technical design (TO)

In the technical design you describe how the website is built. Which CMS do you use? Which features are possible with the standard options of Joomla, which with an existing extension, and what must be developed as custom work? The hosting, the security and any connections with other systems are also part of it.

Where possible, we use the standard features of Joomla itself, such as Custom Fields, user permissions and multilingual support. The fewer extra extensions, the smaller the chance of conflicts, and the easier later updates and upgrades become.

7. Planning and development method

The planning describes who does what, and when. Who delivers the texts and images? Who approves the design? And when does the website go live?

For the building, we work with the DTAP method (in Dutch: OTAP):

• Development: the website is built in its own development environment;
• Test: we test the features and the technology;
• Acceptance: you check the website and approve it;
• Production: the approved website goes live.

This way you test changes first outside the live website, and visitors only see a working version.

8. Maintenance and measuring after the launch

A website is not finished after the launch. That is why the plan also describes the maintenance. Content maintenance: who keeps the texts up to date? And technical maintenance: who takes care of updates, backups and security?

You also measure if the website reaches its goals. For this you use the measurable goals from the plan, for example with web statistics and Google Search Console. This way you see what works, and where you can improve the website. Good findability in search engines and AI also starts with a clear structure and clear goals.

A website plan for an existing website

A website plan is not only useful for a new website. Also with a redesign or a migration to a new Joomla version, it is a good moment to look at the goals again. Which pages are still used? Which features are no longer needed? And what must be better?

How does db8 help with your website plan?

db8 has worked with Joomla since 2005. We help you to turn your wishes into a plan that is technically correct and that you can really carry out.

We start with a conversation about your organisation, your goals and your visitors. Then we work out together the parts that your project needs. Especially in the functional and technical design we can add a lot: which solution fits Joomla best, what will maintenance cost later, and where are the risks?

After that, the plan is the basis for building your Joomla website. Also when another party builds your website, a good plan gives you a clear assignment to start with.

Want a website plan?

Are you going to have a new website built, or do you want to renew your current website? Contact us and tell us what your website must achieve. Then we look together at which parts your plan needs.

Ask for help with your website plan