Six step guide

1 Who it's aimed at

Who are the main visitors to your website going to be? There are often several types, all visiting for different reasons. How do you cater for all their needs?

2 What's in it for them (and you)

What will make visitors come to your website rather than go elsewhere? What do you need to get out of their visit? Do you want to get a message across, make a sale or interact with them? Setting goals up front is key to the success of your website.

3 How to make it a good experience

People expect the online world to give them instant results so you can't afford to waste people's time or drive them crazy with trying to find the information they need. You need to grab their attention, impress them, draw them in and direct them to your goal.

4 How to attract visitors

Just because you have a website, it doesn't mean people will visit it, you need them to know that it exists. You'll need to develop an objective led strategy that uses key offline and online marketing tools that work to build your overall profile.

5 How to build for effectiveness

Cross browser and cross platform, yes, but not cross users! You want your site to be accessible, friendly to search and incorporate key online standards to help keep it future-proofed – and you'll need to consider the amount of traffic it's going to generate, building a site that can meet that  demand.

6 How to keep it relevant

Websites can live a long time and be a liability if they're out of date. Even during times when you're not actively marketing your website, it will continue to appear in searches and potentially embarrass you, it's important to make sure content is current.