1. Planning pays off. Whether you are designing your own site or working with a website developer/designer, the more thorough and well-thought-out the planning the better. It will save time and tears in the long run.

2. Decisions, decisions, decisions. By answering the following questions in detail, you will have the necessary basics for planning your website powerfully:

• What is the purpose of this website? (credibility, visibility, sales, branding, information, communications, identity, etc.) The purpose will help dictate the tone and style.
• Who is my target market? What kinds of visitors do I want to attract?
• What are my goals for each type of visitor?
• What will make them want to stay for awhile and also return?
• What content should I include to satisfy my purpose and fulfill my goals?
• What and how many pages will I need for the content?

3. Start with a rough draft. Even though it is fun to jump right onto the computer, I have learned it works better to sit down with paper and pencil and sketch out a rough flow-chart type of drawing of your site map. Another quick and effective method is to label and use post-it notes that are easy to move.

4. Spend time surfing the Internet. Check out competitors' sites, sites with themes that appeal to you and colors that work for you, along with sites that have comfortable and sensible navigation. Take notes of what you like and why you like it.

5. Still on paper, plan your visitors' journey through the website. From the usual starting point on the home page, decide where you want your visitors to go next and next and next. Make the path easy and obvious. Keep in mind that it is optimal if a visitor can access what he or she is looking for in one or two clicks -- three clicks at the most. A large site should include a comprehensive site map and/or search feature to make navigation simple.

6. Once you are pleased with the initial plan, design a simple prototype. This may be done on the computer with basic outlines and boxes to show the locations of logos, banners, navigational tools, margins, sections for text and graphics, tables and other inclusions. By moving and changing sizes and colors, you will achieve a pleasing and balanced layout.