Website Design Tips: What IS the purpose of your website?

No really, what is the purpose of your website?

Is it to build an audience or earn authority?  Is it to sell a product or service like an eBook, e-course, coaching, or membership?

Are you trying to build an online presence?  You should be answering yes to at least one of these questions.

But why establish purpose?

In establishing the purpose of your website you build the foundation for your presence
on the internet of your brand, business, or that idea you are trying to get out.

By thoughtfully forming this foundation you have determined what to put on your website and what to leave out.  Also, which website platform or software to use, the technology elements required, and the design or functionality the website should or should not have.  The list goes on …..

To me this is a crucial step of website design that the majority of folks forget to define and it puts them on a misguided path in the website development process that will only end up going around in circles.

How do you establish your purpose? 

Just ask yourself, what is the primary purpose or goal of the website?

• Are you a business selling products or a service?
• Are you establishing a coaching brand?
• Or, are you writing about a particular topic, in a magazine or blog style?

If you’re selling a product or service people will want to know about it and see it.  Therefore, images are an important aspect to your website design.  We all want to know what we’re getting before we buy, so you need to ensure that potential users get this information visually from your website.

If your website is more about articles and writing, you are distributing information, and images are not the priority.  What is important though, is that the information is laid out nicely so the user can read and navigate easily, and not be overwhelmed by big blocks of text.

Font and layout selection are critical here, to break up the articles and allow the user to navigate and read the website easily.  Images can be used to break up the articles/posts, but they are not critical.

So, as you can see, laying down the purpose will direct your path forward. 

It will allow you to easily make decisions during the development stage, and it will free your mind of the never-ending “what you need to do” advice that fills up our brains every day.

It doesn’t mean that you have to lock in a single purpose for ever.  Just as businesses and markets change, so will the purpose of your website.

Establishing the purpose is the important step here, as this definition will drive the evolution of your website as your business needs grow and change.

Got a question?  Need help defining your website’s purpose?  Leave a comment, we’d love to hear from you.