David Fiske Affiliate marketing & web development musings from Fiske Towers

I like to impart some wise words every now and then and today's tale is about the benefits of planning before you rush of and create websites.
 
I'm the victim of not planning to the best degree I should. The amount of domain names that were destined for 'amazing' website ideas at the time has filled up my 'to-do' tray. I have an idea, I buy the domain name and then the whole lot runs out of steam.

Sometimes it's not for want of trying. Sometimes the idea is good but the updating of the site let's it down. The only website I've updated at least once a day on average this year is this one (that's both good and bad by the way!).

By planning, you can plan everything from site design to site implementation. I spend less time on design these days as I've found styles and combinations that work for me. My navigation is usually to the left, though on some sites it's on the right. I use 12px fonts. My footer will be in grey. And so on...

Planning should be more about what the site will do, and how you are going to do it.

If you hate writing we bother building a reviews site. Yes you can outsource reviews but now you have to factor in additional cost. Is that cost worth what you can earn from it? Can you guarantee that the content you pay for is fresh and unique?

I prefer creating web solutions. I'll write but I'll have to be in a particular mood to write. I can write in this style and format but reviews are more difficult unless I'm really passionate about something. The solution here is to create a blog about a passion, focussing on that rather than a broad choice of products.

I can code solutions to enable other people to write. That's not a problem. So perhaps I should build something where people can write or express themselves. But what? Or how?

I like taking photos so something where they can be displayed (and sold perhaps) might be an idea.

The upshot here is that by planning, you can help to minimise wastage of your time and money. An idea about a blog might sound like a great idea but can you update it at least daily? Want users to submit content? Have you got the time to moderate it?

There's a phrase that floats around and it's quite apt here: Failure to plan is planning to fail. Words of wisdom.

Benefits of Planning

1. More methodical approach to web development
2. Less money wasted as a result of buying domain names then sitting on them
3. Less time wasted whilst you mess around with ideas on the fly
4. A more consistent approach to updating the site