Planning Page
Content

A basic no-frills website will have a home page, an about page, a services page and a contact page as a bare minimum. Each page will require content. It is your responsibility to provide content to the web developer. If the developer has to create content for you, the cost will add up quickly. Think about the content required for each of these pages. For instance, your about page should provide information about you or your business. Many companies list their mission statement, how long they have been in business and maybe even team members here. Will you need videos or photos for this page? Will there be any external links on the page leading to affiliates, corporate homepages or sister sites. It is important to know what you want out of each of your pages. You can create a visual plan or site map of each page so you or your web developer know exactly what you have planned for each page of your site.

Depending on the type of website you need the amount of pages you need could be very different. For example, imagine you are a photographer looking to create a portfolio website to showcase your talents. You would need an attractive home page. You would need to provide content for the home page like:

• Your logo
• Photos you would like to display on the home page
• Text you would like to provide on the home page
• Links you would like to have on your home page
• You should also have a basic idea of the layout you want for your front page. Look around and see what others in your field are doing.

You would definitely require a gallery page and you would need to provide photos for this gallery and any text or captions you require to accompany the photos. Other good pages might be an about page, contact page and maybe even a page that allows customers to schedule photography sessions with you. You need to understand what pages your site needs beforehand because it helps the process go faster but, also because if you are using a design team it will help to provide you with a better time and cost estimate. Imaginary Friends Design Studios offers a budget website package but, providing photography scheduling functionality will probably bump your website out of the budget range and into a more custom website price range. You’re definitely better off knowing from the start what your project is going to need and cost.