Map Out Your Website Before Your Build It

All too often Solopreneurs tend to dive in without a game plan because we want to “get things done.” Unfortunately, this is a horrible way to get your website launched. You’ll end up with an “alright” website, something that you’re not excited to share, a website that would sit dormant and ignored, and a website that you get frustrated with.

Avoid Website Frustration

One way to avoid being frustrated with your website and the process to build it is to map out your website from the start. You want to build a branded asset that can be your best, hard-working promoter. You want to be able to have a tool where you can showcase your skills, knowledge, work, and so much more. You may think “I can’t afford a tool like that,” but guess what? You may already have one…

Your website can be that primetime, promoting hustler for you!

Consider What You Want and Need

Before you build or revamp yours, think about what you want it to do and how you want your visitors to feel once they are there. What is the ultimate goal that you want to achieve with your website? What experiences do you want people to have as they visit your website? How do you intend to keep them on your website and for what purpose?

Encourage engagement

Engagement is a word you’ll hear as a Solopreneur and it’s all about building trust between you and tour website visitors. They want to know what you do, who you are, and how you can help them – be it entertainment or life-saving solutions.

Be helpful & user-friendly

No website visitor wants to feel like they are at a dead-end or are spinning their wheels into a Blackhole of useless clicks.

With this in mind, map out what you want to display and how it should feel. Pay attention to how current visitors are reacting and adjust accordingly.

Track actions on your site

Trace how they move on your website, where are they clicking, when do they enter and leave tour website, are they breaking out as soon as they roll up? Track their movements so you can respond effectively. You can also ask visitors if they found what they needed or what could you add to improve their experience.

Map Out Your Website Before You Build It

No matter if you use an app or manually write this all out, map out the steps you’ll be taking to get your new website ready. Be sure to include a timeline and a deadline. Built-in some padded time in case of delays or technical issues. If you’ll be transferring between hosting or domain companies, add an extra week for transfer time. You won’t be able to rush that in any way.

Now that you’ve done your historical tracking, it’s time to make the updates. Plan out any new pages you may need or pages that need updating.

Decide if you need to spruce up your entire layout or simply move things around.

If you need to get images and videos created make note of the content and timeframes for those. Are you hiring people or doing all this solo-dolo?

Get Your Content Ready

Now that you’ve mapped things out you’re all set to collect the content you need. Be it writing new pieces for your blog, rewriting your bio, getting those images, or simply creating your promotional items for social media and your email list; get all your content and digital assets ready now.

The Rundown

There’s no reason to continue wasting your creative and productive energy building websites that don’t fit your business needs. Stop spinning your wheels and before you start building, map out your website for a more concise and cohesive website. Make sure you have a game plan of what your website should be capable of doing so you can build your brand the right way.

Remember that you want to be clear on how your website should be of service to your visitors and you want to avoid frustrating them. Having a game plan will save you tons of building time and reduce the number of revisions you need to do before launching your website to the public. This helps you and your web developer get the job done right and quickly!