Website Strategy: The Roadmap to A Profitable Showit or Shopify Website

What is Website Strategy?

A website strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines the goals, objectives, target audience, design elements, content structure, functionality, and overall approach for a website. It’s a detailed roadmap that guides the creation, development, and management of a Showit or Shopify website to ensure it effectively serves its intended purpose.

Designing intentional and effective Showit and Shopify websites takes time and a systematic approach. It requires you to not only develop a website layout, but to also have a deep understanding of both your personal brand and your ideal customer.

How Does Website Strategy Help Create Better Websites?

A website strategy plays a pivotal role in creating better informational and e-commerce websites by providing a clear and purposeful roadmap for the entire design and development process.

A well-defined website strategy ensures that the Showit or Shopify website’s purpose is crystal clear. It outlines the specific objectives the website aims to achieve, such as generating leads, driving sales, or conveying information. This clarity ensures that every design element, content piece, and functionality serves a meaningful purpose, eliminating any guesswork and potential distractions.

Not only does a website strategy help create clarity within a Shopify or Showit website design, it also places your users at the center of the design process. By understanding the target audience’s preferences, behaviors, and pain points, the website strategy helps create a user experience (UX) that’s tailored specifically to your customer’s needs. This results in an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it easier for visitors to navigate, engage, and convert.

Website strategies help maintain cohesive branding and consistent messaging. It defines the visual and tonal elements that align with the brand’s identity, fostering brand recognition and trust among users.

Ultimately, a well-executed website strategy ensures that your Showit or Shopify website not only looks visually appealing but also effectively delivers on its objectives, providing a seamless and valuable experience for users.

The Stages of A Website Strategy:

1.) Understanding Your Branding

During this stage, I really put the work in when it comes to getting to know you and your business on a very personal level. I want to understand all of your business goals, brand reputation, niche, and target market. We will also discuss some introductory technical things to make sure your website will be effective for your business long term.

This Stage Includes:

• Client Brand Questionnaire
• Defining Your Showit or Shopify Website Goals
• Deciding on a Domain Name (URL)
• Choosing the Right Website Platform (Shopify vs. Showit)
• Audit of Existing Website (If Applicable)

2.) Market & SEO Research

Stage Two is where I dig deep and spend hours (not kidding – it takes forever) analyzing and researching details about your target market’s struggles and needs, your competitors strengths and weaknesses, and where we can work to strategically address your niche.

This is also the time where I do thorough SEO keyword research and planning. I spend time hunting through Google to create a list of both long tailed and short tailed keywords. This list will not only be used to create SEO titles and Meta Descriptions, it will also be passed to your professional copywriter, who will use it to streamline your website copy.

This Stage Includes:

• Niche and Ideal Client Research
• Competitor Analysis
• SEO Keyword Research and Planning

3.) Shopify or Showit Layout Development

This is the fun part! At this stage we start looking at the visual elements of your Shopify or Showit website. We will outline which pages we will be creating, what the purpose of those pages are, and a general outline of the content that will need to be on them. I will use my research from the previous step to help set you apart from your competition and create an optimal experience for your website users.

I will also create moodboards with website design styles for you to review and choose from! You will also receive a PDF file outlining the market research, competitor analysis, SEO planning, sitemap details, and moodboards. Once you have reviewed and approved this PDF, we move on to Stage Four.

This Stage Includes:

• Sitemap (Pages) Outline
• SEO Titles and Meta Description Planning
• Moodboarding and Layout Inspiration
• Strategy Guide (PDF)

4.) Wireframe Designing & Website Content Curation

Things are really heating up now! I will create a fully fleshed out website wireframe based on the designs we created in Stage Three. This wireframe will closely resemble your future finished Showit or Shopify website once development as finished. The website wireframe will act as a guide for us to work on curating the most effective content for your website.

This stage requires you, as the client, to be much more involved. Specifically, you will be involved in either assembling existing brand photo galleries to send to me, or you will need to work with a professional brand photographer to have fresh website photos taken.

Secondarily, you will also need to be writing your own website copy, or working with a professional copywriter who can include the list of SEO keywords I created for you in Stage Two.

This Stage Includes:

• Wireframe Design
• Image Curation
• Copywriting
• Refining and Finalizing All Website Designs

5.) Shopify or Showit Website Development

Now, we build! I will begin building your website wireframe within the Shopify or Showit design platforms. I will be referencing and using the PDF strategy guide I created, as well as the wireframe design to create a beautiful and functional website for you.

Can I See An Example of A Showit/Squarespace Strategy Guide?

Absolutely! Feel free to check out this case study of one of my client’s informational Showit websites, designed using this website strategy method. Linked here:

What About A Shopify Website Strategy Guide Example?

I have an e-commerce website strategy guide ready for you to dig through as well! The following strategy guide is from a project created for a client’s Shopify store. Linked here:

Using this Systematic Approach Creates Beautiful and Effective Showit and Shopify Websites!

The journey to crafting impactful Showit and Shopify websites is directly tied to the strategic approach outlined in this guide. With a website strategy to guide you, the intricate combination of design and purpose comes to life, yielding digital landscapes that resonate with audiences and achieve business aspirations. Embracing this systematic roadmap ensures that your digital presence not only captivates but also converts, propelling your business toward digital success.

Thanks for Reading!

Your friendly Montana website designer,

Rosa Linnell

Owner & Designer at Foxtail Tech