A Website Planning Worksheet - Measuring Performance Improvements
If you've ever been involved with planning website improvements, you know how hard it can be to decide what action to take. You've heard great potential lies in social media, adding product reviews to your site and search engine optimization (SEO) but which is the best to pursue? Luckily, estimating and measuring performance improvements is easy when you look at the numbers. Today, Big Picture Web brings you a special website planning worksheet that's sure to empower you to correctly select the big ticket items on your next web project.
Website Planning 101
When measuring performance improvements on an individual's or business' website, you can only do three things:
- Acquire visitors to your site
- Engage them with your message
- Convince them to do business with you
That said, the website planning worksheet is a tool that measures performance improvements in these areas. All the math comes baked in. Just enter your website's information, estimate your various improvements and evaluate the relative results. And it's a Google Doc so you can go here to view it and then keep a free copy to use forever and ever.
Measuring Performance Improvements Made Easy
To use the website planning worksheet, you'll need a few numbers. Plug them into the spreadsheet into only cells with gray backgrounds. Gather your website's averages for monthly traffic, goal conversion and goal value (if you don't have them, again, feel free to read up on setting and measuring online goals). Next, do some research to estimate what the various improvements you've identified will do for your business. Plug these numbers into the website planning worksheet as well. Planning, estimating and measuring performance improvements is the best way to prepare for any efforts towards your website. Let's see a few examples of how this might look.
Website Planning Worksheet Example 1:
A small blog convinces about 2% of average visitors to download a whitepaper on expert content the author has created. The author has just read an exciting usability book like Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug and wants to do a usability overhaul to improve her conversion rate by perhaps as much as 83%. Plug in the numbers and volia. 
(click on the image to access your copy of the spreadsheet)
Website Planning Worksheet Example 2:
A medium-sized business has 200,000 visitors a month. Its stakeholders feel the site offers great products and services and want to pursue search engine optimization (SEO) to get more visitors to the site. They know through research peformed on sites like SEOmoz that more of their market will find them, helping them improve their overall revenue. Thank you, website planning worksheet (and SEOmoz).
Website Planning Worksheet Example 3:
A small business begins a rewards loyalty program to increase customer engagement They offer more value to their customer, and in return increase the average order value on their website.
Website Planning, in Summary
So there you have it. Use the website planning worksheet to estimate the potential benefit. Then be sure you're measuring performance improvements as you implement your most promising enhancements. Leave your comments below if you're able to get some use out of the website planning worksheet.
(Note: Website project results will vary on many factors. The Website Planning Worksheet is a tool and a resource but does not guarantee success. Of course, you can always contact me if you want my two cents or assistance on any projects you're working on).
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Reader Comments (16)
I recently came across your post and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I wonder how this pertains to Business Loans? I don't know what to say except that it caught my interest and you've provided informative points. I will visit this blog often. Thank you.
Thanks for stopping by. Unfortunately I'm not a pro on business loans. I did, however, delete the link you placed in your comment as it wasn't very relevant for my visitors.
I recently came across your post and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that it caught my interest and you've provided informative points. I will visit this blog often.
Thank you,
Small Business Loans
I'm not sure why this post is a magnet for link spam related to small business loans. To the previous comment poster, I'm pretty sure that you haven't been reading my blog at all since you arrived via the Google query: "inurl:blog small-business "post a comment " -comments-closed -you-must-be-logged-in site:.com." Sounds like some fancy way to find some inbound links. I've deleted your link, but thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for your nice posting keep it up, I am always looking for such types of enormous information’s.
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This would also be a good kickoff meeting with prospective clients. Just put a challenges questionnaire at the front and your good to go. Hubspot has something that will work. Check out the resources part of their site. Combine it with this worksheet and you have the perfect site and promotional planner.
I love how you have systematized the whole process, and even offered the necessary documents for said system.
I'm all about implementing systems to accomplish goals. In my personal experiences, goals written down lead me to the steps needed more often than if I keep goals in my head!
Thank you for this share, Josh!
Brian and Miles - You guys obviously see the world in a similar light as I do. I can't eat the whole elephant at once and there a million levers on the web. I'm glad you found the spreadsheet useful to gather your thoughts and estimate the impact.
Brian and Miles I can see that this is the way to go with SEO, I will start using, and This with prospective this is taking it to the next level, thanks Derby Valentino
I found your worksheets very handy - if they help me to work smarter and not harder, I am all in!
Thanks for posting those, Josh.
Best,
Ana Hoffman
Derby and Ana - thanks a lot for the feedback. Glad to see that you're finding value.
Josh,
To paraphrase an old adage, "If you are taking a trip without a destination in mind, any direction will do."
Your planning worksheet is not elegant, but it's simple, straightforward and effective. I like that it allows a user to play 'what-ifs' with their tactics. I believe the final outcome for most of us is our revenue/profit objective. Your marketing tool allows several different improvements to be compared to arrive at the optimal one. For example, % increased visits vs. % better conversion to evaluate one campaign against another. I like your "big picture" thought process.
I plan to 'steal' your idea for a questionnaire as a great way to get prospect info as well as to engage visitors.
I have bookmarked your site and now on to your questionnaire.
Thx
will brennan
I love the quote, Will. I'll be the first to agree that the spreadsheet isn't all that elegant. As someone who has seen the sheer confusion on faces when I mention tactics, I've always found that the easiest way to communicate value is to speak the language of your customer. And in most cases, that's going to be expense and revenue. The big picture is what Big Picture Web is all about.
Feel free to steal any and all ideas. Just toss me a link or two in the process :)
Hey Josh,
When I say your tool is not elegant, I mean no disrespect. I say elegant = Fortune 500 (my background).
I am in process of changing my business model from, 1:1 traditional, offline marketing to an online model. In the past, I have lots of experience sitting opposite clients and showing them the simplest worksheets or blueprints and seeing their eyes glaze over. So, my attitude is 'not elegant' is more effective because it gets buy-in and eventually use. But what I really dig about your worksheet is it makes businesses stop and think about their objectives before they jump into an activity or a campaign.
Thx
will
Trust that anything I swipe from you will get full attribution and recognition.
No disrespect taken, my friend. :)