Creating and managing a new website project in a barristers chamber can be a complex task, however, it doesn’t need to be stressful! In order to manage the project successfully and stick as closely as possible to deadlines, the following tips can help keep your website project running smoothly.
Create a Team
One of the first jobs to complete when considering a website project is to put together a small team. The smaller the team, the easier the project will be to manage. The team can collectively make key decisions regarding the new website’s goals, layout and functionality, without having to reach out to involve the whole of chambers. This makes it much easier to collate and act on all of the responses and opinions. Without a team in place, decisions can take longer which will extend the length of the project.
Set Goals
With the team now in place, you need to review your current site and consider how a new website can work harder in order to produce better results. Whether you are looking to attract new clients in certain practice areas or track conversions from the website, you need to define a clear set of goals. These goals will form the foundations of the new website project, allowing the design and functionality to be built around achieving them.
Do Your Research
Take a look at some of your competitor’s websites. Study the creative elements and also functionality, such as a responsive search facility or automated professional CV’s, that perhaps you would like included in your chambers’ new website. Putting these ideas into a document to present to your agency can be very useful, especially when it comes to the specification and design phase of the project.
Tackling Content
This is often the most time-consuming part of a chambers project as more often than not, multiple people need to be involved in this process. Early on in the project, it is recommended that you start reviewing and identifying key areas of content.
If you start the process by creating a document that displays the architecture of the new website, it will make it easier to visualise areas of content that might be missing. It can also highlight areas of existing content that may need to be developed further to adapt to the new page templates. This will also give you the opportunity to review the content and optimise it for search engines.
From here, a plan of action should be created that details who the content will be written by, alongside strict deadlines. This will help you keep on top of the generation of content and ensure that it is ready in time for the new website to be populated.
Starting the website project with clear expectations, and keeping communication constant will help maintain a good schedule. There may be times when deadlines might not be met, in particular when it comes to reviewing the content, however it is important to keep communication at the forefront of the project.