There are three extremely important items of planning before even starting the building process of a web site. Firstly is the Purpose, secondly the target Audience and finally the actual Content. Planning the website before building is obviously the most efficient way to maximise success and reduce errors.

The purpose of the site needs to be clearly defined to the web designer by the company that wants the site to be built.  Normally the company will give a purpose statement to the designer that clearly defines the sites objectives and what they wish to accomplish with the website. The designer then will set long and short term goals for the site, the short term goal is to fulfill the purpose and targets set by the company and the long term goals is to factor in means for expansion and change to the design and improvement of the site.

Determining the target audience is a key step towards the success of a website. By understanding you key audience which is the ones most likely to visit the site and make purchases then the designer can orientate the design of the site around that audience preferences. Common characteristics are taken into account such as personality and popular culture characteristics, information preferences, computer specifications, web experience.

The content of the website will be specified by the company setting up the site and usually will be tweaked by the designer with their experience as guidance. Sometimes the content will be tested on focus groups to clearly understand what the target audience wants. The information is then formed into a basic structure and pages named with clear descriptive titles. This type of planning ensures maximum success in fulfilling audience needs and wants and making the site a profitable venture.