A client referred me to a new non-profit who needed a website. She hoped For Marketing Matters could help them as they were anxious to get a website developed quickly. Hmmm – I haven’t even spoken to them, but feeling like we are already behind!
Last week, I had a great call with the contact who I will refer to as J. He had spoken to several marketers and was prepared to do a deep dive into the functionality of the site, including specific tools (plug-ins) to be integrated into the site. I asked if we could have a broader discussion about the non-profit. Before talking about website functionality, I wanted to get a sense of how ‘defined’ the non-profit was and how much of the go-to-market thinking had been completed. I asked basic, but important questions including:
- What does success of this nonprofit look like?
- What role will the website have in achieving success?
- Is the target audience defined? In this case there are two distinct target audiences to consider so we talked more about the key nuances of both audiences.
This organization, managed by a working board, wants to get up and running quickly. Naturally they know they will need a strong on-line presence so their focus is on getting this website live to build awareness and generate leads. They are absolutely right to know they need a website. But the reality is they should not start with the website.
There was strategic marketing work that first needed to be done before jumping into writing web content, design and development. As is common, they were eager to work on the second floor before the foundation of the organization was in place.
Like this hut, the website may end up looking good, but it would not be on solid footing. In other words, the end deliverable may look cool, but would it best serve the organization?
Below is a very high-level overview of the work involved in building a website. The intent is to highlight the key inputs for each of the 3 work streams.
Designing and developing a website has three basic work streams:
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Content:
A website needs content – doh! Content typically includes who you are, what you do, what you offer and how to contact.
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Design:
Design elements bring the brand to life visually. Website design elements include the use of colors, fonts, call to action buttons, images and rollover treatments. All are carefully planned and implemented to create visual interest, to support and further develop the brand and to deliver an appealing experience that achieves the goals of the website.
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Development:
Development is building the website structure. Commonly we develop custom websites leveraging specific WordPress frameworks as a starting point, In other words, no cookie cutter websites, but developed efficiently leveraging an existing development framework. Testing across browsers and developing for responsiveness are fundamental parts of this work stream. SEO best practices are applied targeting key defined search terms and accounting for the competition.
Why starting with the website is not a good idea.
Let’s imagine you ignore this blog and your business’ first marketing effort is getting a website in place. Based on the abbreviated descriptions of the above 3 work streams, let me highlight why this is not recommended.
Content:
Imagine you are the writer. You sit down to write the content for the website and have writer’s block. Of course you have writer’s block! You don’t have basic information you need. You would likely ask yourself some of the following questions:
- Who is my audience?
- What is the unique value proposition? Who is the competition we need to be distinctly different from?
- What is the tone of the brand? the voice?
- What are the offerings?
- Who are we? What do we stand for?
Design:
imagine you are a graphic designer. Where do you start in the design process? Maybe there is a logo in place so you have an initial color palette. Otherwise, the designer is working with a blank slate and making up the brand as he or she designs. This is your business. Don’t be making up the brand! First develop your brand and visual identity including colors and fonts.
Development:
Most businesses want to be found in on-line searches. It is a basic goal. What key terms should be incorporated? SEO terms affect both development and content. We do not recommend developing a site to get it up and running fast, without doing the legwork first. By completing the foundation work first, you have defined the competition, you have completed an analysis of search terms and how competitive the terms are and you can then logically develop the site and the writer can write the content incorporating the key search terms for which you want to be found! Sure you can develop the website in a vacuum, but neither the content nor the meta tags can be effectively done to deliver effective search engine optimization.
Slow Down To Speed Up.
We work with small businesses. They do not have a lot of money to burn. In fact, they don’t have any. Be smart and do the heavy lifting first and then build the website. Don’t have the website force you to make-up your business on the fly. You will see tremendous value in slowing down to tackle the strategic thinking that will serve you and your business for many years to come. Otherwise, if you start with your website, you will be re-doing, revising, rewriting and likely regretting your approach. You will waste precious time and money.
Whatever your business model, non-profit or for-profit, having a website is likely one marketing element you need. It should NEVER be the first step. None of us would build a home without a strong foundation. Do the same for your non-profit or for profit business. Otherwise, your website is built on sand and at some point, a strong storm will head your way.
I hope we get the opportunity to work with J and his working board for many years by first putting them on solid footing and then designing and developing a website that delivers on the success metrics that they define.