How To Sketch a Website That Will Immediately Engage Your Visitors

Does this sound familiar? You want to get started on something that's rather important, but you're hesitant because you simply don't know where to start?
It's comparable to that situation when you can choose from 100 flavors - but which leaves you in doubt that you still want ice cream.
Before you hire a designer, choose a content management system or decide on colors and fonts, try these simple steps in order to sketch a website and get some layout ideas.
1 - Change your frame of mind
Take on a different perspective, put yourself in the position of your website visitors instead of your self and build a list of inter-actions they will be able to perform. These actions can also be called features because they are what your website will feature.
Say you are an enthusiastic gardener and you'd like to sell organic seeds of edible plants such as herbs, lettuce and vegetables. Your clients will be able to harvest for their favorite dishes.
Your feature list could look something like this:
On my website, people can

• order seeds and gardening tools.
• check a sowing schedule.
• choose seeds according to their eating preferences.
• subscribe to the monthly tip on gardening.
• learn about gardening from videos.

2 - Drafting single pages
Design one page per feature.
For example, to display the videos lessons, I list the lessons on the left and have the video play in a box on the right. Then add a title for each page. This will give you your draft navigation!
Some pages are not as important as others, in this particular case it's the contact page. I'll remove it from the main navigation and place it in the footer. Rearrange until you get it right.
3 - Create an inviting welcome
Design the front page.
If you show a pack of seeds on your front page and say "buy this", it's probably not going to work.
Arrange this paramount page in a way that invites your visitors to 'get involved'. Suggest some things that they might want to engage in, like learn more about gardening and read one of the previous monthly tips.
Hey, and guess what - you can use your imagination to create future products or tools that don't yet exist, but would be nice to have (like a plot designer). If you can name it, ideas how to design it will follow.
It is important that you get people attracted and have a call to action so that they stay on your website.
Remember, you have 8 seconds to convince them that you have something interesting to offer and if you can't, they'll be gone with a click.
If you bring this information to a web designer he or she will be delighted. No doubt, it will be easier to get an awesome design to go with your content. Knowing how to make a website might be easier than you thought.
Go do the work now.
To see an example of this wonderful website in action, go to http://www.seedtoplate.co.uk.

Juliette Fong is a web project manager who enjoys getting solo entrepreneurs to start a website and igniting their online spark. She also enjoys green tea and designed stuff that works. To read the full blog post including images, please visit.
http://www.juliettefong.com

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