Strategies for a Productive Website Planning Session

We'll be frank - the effectiveness of a website development strategy meeting largely hinges on YOUR involvement. Your collaboration with both internal and external teams significantly shapes the tone, efficiency, productivity, and ultimate outcomes of the meeting. Nevertheless, there are additional factors worth considering, which we'll delve into in this blog.

Constitutes an Effective Web Strategy

Several feature requests follow a recurring pattern. They frequently prioritize aesthetics over functionality. Often, these requests lack strategic consideration regarding how they can effectively achieve goals and instead emphasize surface-level appearances.

Discussion on Features

Once your web team grasps your objectives, they can initiate discussions about website features, categorized as follows: Wishlist: These are long-term aspirations for your website, even if they're beyond the current project scope or budget. Addressing your wishlist enables your team to align short-term actions with your overarching vision. Content Outline: This constitutes the essence of your content strategy. It delineates how pages interact and identifies necessary page templates. The complexity of your website dictates the duration of this process; larger websites require more time. While some may refer to this as a sitemap, the terms are often used interchangeably. Home Page Strategy: Your homepage holds utmost importance. It's vital to meticulously plan its layout and the content/imagery it will showcase. The approach taken with the homepage should mirror that of any critical landing page. While smaller budget websites may not prioritize internal landing pages, larger projects typically involve wireframes for internal pages and a comprehensive mockup for the homepage, and potentially internal pages.

Understanding Sunlight Technologies

If your team isn't familiar with Sunlight Technologies, your efforts may be futile. Your web team should invest time in understanding your needs before the kickoff meeting. Additionally, they should use the meeting to delve deeper into any overlooked aspects or to refine your target audience.