Why are you designing this website? What is the ‘topic’ of your website?

Your subsequent decisions from the design, to your hosting plan, to whether to include a blog will be determined by your website topic. You can adjust the focus as your site and traffic grow, but it is important to have a general idea of the content.

Combining a personal and business website or a personal and portfolio website means that the material on the personal part of your website can damage the professional impression you give on the business and portfolio parts of the website. While adding a personal touch to your website can give your website an extra boost and encourage repeat readers, truly personal sites should be kept separate.

Who is your ‘target audience’?

A clean professional layout often benefits a business site, but can backfire if the site is intended to have a more personal audience. A person looking for Photoshop brushes, advise about getting a cranky two-year old to take a nap, or researching a cancer support group is less likely to be impressed by a design that gives the commercial focused impression. Looking like you are trying to sell something can damage your reputation as a reliable source of impartial information. The same principle applies to political or social issue sites where appearing to being beholden to a political party or candidate may affect your credibility.

How ‘word focused’ do you want your website to be? How easy do you want to make it to translate your website? Do you want your website to be readable by those who are fluent in the language in which you post or by those who have a more limited vocabulary? A website that is dedicated to your academic papers should have a professional and academic tone. Conversely, if your website consists of Photoshop resources you will expand your potential audience by making it accessible to people regardless of language.

How much are you willing to spend to create the website?

Many programs used in web design (Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc) are expensive. Consider not only the actual design, but the design elements (a Twitter icon, etc). Creating the design elements yourself gives you the most flexibility and uniqueness, but the cost of the software can quickly become prohibitive for all, but serious designers. Hosting costs also vary. In most cases you can start with a cheaper hosting plan and then upgrade as your traffic expands. If your website is composed of only a blog or pictures there are free alternatives to a fully hosted site, but if you want a full website you will have to pay for hosting as the standard free hosting options are inferior.

How do you want your website to be organized?

It is highly recommended that you create a general organizational structure before you start designing. Viewers get frustrated quickly if they can’t find the material they want. Especially if you are new to web design get input from others about your organizational structure. Does putting pictures of your dog in the same section as information about old fashioned ice-cream make sense to others or just to you?

A Sitemap is an excellent back-up option as it means anyone who does not understand your organizational structure- and no matter how well you design or how much feedback you get there is someone in the world who will not understand it- can skim through the sections and find the material they want. A search option is also crucial for many websites, but do not rely on it as an excuse for poor design and navigation.