10 Steps to Create a Website Strategy (That Actually Delivers Results)

Building a website without a comprehensive website strategy is like heading to Target without a shopping list — you might find some good things, but you'll probably forget the most important ones.

In this article, I'll walk you through the steps needed to come up with a winning website strategy, including how to research and define your target audience, evaluate your current website, set goals and KPIs, and optimize your website's content and SEO.

By the end of this blog, you'll have a clear understanding of what it means to have a website strategy and how to implement it effectively.

What Is a Website Strategy?

A website strategy is a comprehensive plan that encompasses every aspect of your website, from defining the goal of the website and the target audience to the way the website should look, behave, and communicate. A website strategy is aligned with your organization's broader goals and contributes to achieving them.

In simpler terms, if you're asking "how do I create a web strategy?," the answer is: you must consider who you want to reach, what you want to say, and how you want to say it for you to turn your website into an effective marketing vehicle. A good website strategy drives visitors to your site and converts them into loyal customers and brand advocates.

Before working on a website strategy, you might also want to consider broader web strategy issues, such as whether the platform you're using (for instance, WordPress or Webflow) will help your website succeed, as these choices will have lasting implications on how your site performs.

How to Create a Website Strategy in 10 Steps

1. Define Your Target Audience

Your website's core function is to serve your target audience. This means you need to understand who your audience is and what their needs are. What problems do they have that your business can solve? Who are your ideal customers? What keeps them up at night?

To answer these questions, you'll need to conduct audience research. Use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, including surveys, interviews, and data analytics, to gather insights into your audience. Understand who visits your website, what they're looking for, and what value you can provide them.

Once you have this information, build out detailed customer personas. These should be rich, layered portraits of your ideal customers. Go beyond demographic information and think about their behaviors, motivations, and goals.

2. Set Clear Goals and KPIs

Without clear goals, you can't measure success. Before you can set goals, though, you need to understand what your website is trying to achieve. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales? Or maybe you want to improve customer service or support by providing valuable resources and information?

Once you've established the purpose of your website, you can set SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, if you want to generate more leads, your goal might be: "Increase lead form submissions by 20% over the next quarter."

To track progress towards your goals, you'll also need to identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These are quantifiable metrics that will tell you whether you're moving in the right direction. For the lead generation goal above, a relevant KPI might be the number of form submissions per month, or the percentage of visitors who submit a form.

3. Evaluate Your Current Website

Unless you're starting from scratch, you'll want to evaluate your current website before developing your strategy. This will help you understand what's working, what's not, and what you need to improve.

Start by gathering data. Use web analytics tools like Google Analytics to understand how visitors are currently interacting with your site. Look at metrics like traffic, bounce rate, time on site, and conversion rate. Identify which pages are performing well and which ones are underperforming.

You should also analyze your competitors' websites. Look at their content, design, SEO strategies, and user experience. How do they communicate their value proposition? How are they engaging with their audience? This competitive analysis will help you identify opportunities to differentiate your website and gain a competitive advantage.

How often do they publish, and whether they employ pillar and content cluster strategies. This way, you can find an edge and get some of their traffic. 

4. Conduct Website Audits (If Possible)

A crucial step, if an existing website is available, is to conduct a comprehensive website audit. This process involves evaluating the site's current performance across several key areas, including design, content, and search engine optimization (SEO).

• Design audit: A design audit assesses the site's user experience, visual appeal, and overall design consistency. This helps identify whether the current design effectively communicates your brand's identity and whether it provides a user-friendly experience.
• Content audit: A content audit involves a thorough review of all the content on the site. This includes blog posts, product descriptions, videos, and any other type of content. The goal is to evaluate the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of the content, and identify gaps or redundancies.
• SEO audit: This is a comprehensive review of the site's SEO performance. It involves analyzing the site's keyword rankings, backlink profile, meta tags, URL structure, and other factors that affect its visibility on search engines.
• Technical audit: A technical audit focuses on the site's backend performance, including site speed, mobile-friendliness, and any technical issues that may impact user experience or SEO performance.

These audits provide a clear picture of the site's strengths and weaknesses, offering valuable insights for the development of a robust website strategy.

5. Plan Your Website Architecture and Design

Website architecture refers to the structure of your website — how pages are organized and linked together. Good architecture makes it easy for both users and search engines to navigate your site, find content, and understand your website hierarchy.

Think carefully about how you'll organize your content and structure your navigation. What are the most important pages? How should they be grouped? What's the hierarchy? Your goal should be to make it as easy as possible for visitors to find what they need and take the desired action.

In terms of design, you want your website to reflect your brand identity and appeal to your target audience. Your design choices — color palette, typography, imagery, and layout — should all be intentional and aligned with your brand guidelines. Make sure your design is responsive and optimized for all devices, not just desktop.

6. Develop Your Content Strategy

Content is king, and a solid content strategy is a critical component of a successful website strategy. What types of content will you create? How often will you publish? What topics will you cover? How will you make sure your content is aligned with your audience's needs and your business goals?

Your content strategy should also include a plan for optimizing your content for search engines. This includes keyword research, on-page SEO, and link building. SEO should be baked into your content strategy from the start, not bolted on as an afterthought.

Don't forget about the different formats of content you could use — not just written articles, but also videos, infographics, podcasts, and more. Different formats appeal to different audience segments and can help diversify your traffic sources.

7. Define Your SEO Strategy

Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for driving organic traffic to your website. A solid SEO strategy involves both on-page and off-page optimization techniques.

On-page SEO involves optimizing your web pages to rank higher in search engine results. This includes keyword research and optimization, meta tags, URL structure, internal linking, and ensuring your content is high-quality and relevant.

Off-page SEO refers to actions taken outside of your website to improve its SEO, primarily through building high-quality backlinks. This can involve content marketing, social media marketing, and influencer outreach, among other tactics.

8. Plan for Conversion Optimization

Your website should not just attract visitors — it should convert them into customers or leads. This is where conversion rate optimization (CRO) comes in. CRO involves optimizing your website to increase the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, whether that's filling out a contact form, signing up for a newsletter, or making a purchase.

Think carefully about your calls-to-action (CTAs). Are they compelling and clear? Are they placed in the right locations? Are they relevant to the content on the page?

Also, consider your landing pages. These are the pages where visitors arrive after clicking on an ad or a link. They should be optimized for conversions, with a clear headline, compelling copy, strong CTA, and a simple form.

9. Create a Website Maintenance Plan

A website is never truly "finished" — it requires ongoing maintenance and optimization. Your website strategy should include a plan for ongoing maintenance, including regular content updates, SEO optimization, performance monitoring, and security updates.

Decide who will be responsible for website maintenance. Will you handle it in-house, or will you outsource it to a web agency? What tools and processes will you use to monitor performance and implement changes?

10. Measure, Analyze, and Optimize

The final step in developing your website strategy is to establish a process for measuring results, analyzing data, and optimizing your strategy based on what you learn. This is a continuous process — you should be constantly testing, learning, and improving.

Set up regular reporting to track your KPIs and assess your progress towards your goals. Use data from web analytics, user testing, and customer feedback to identify areas for improvement. And don't be afraid to iterate and experiment — the best website strategies are the ones that evolve over time in response to changing market conditions and audience needs.

Summary

Developing a comprehensive website strategy requires careful planning and ongoing management. From understanding your audience to setting clear objectives, optimizing content, and implementing SEO best practices, each step is crucial.

Mastering these elements takes time and expertise. If you want to take your website strategy to the next level, consider partnering with a website agency like Flow Ninja. We specialize in creating and implementing effective website strategies tailored to your unique needs and business goals. Contact us today to find out how we can help you achieve your online objectives.

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