Before you begin: Planning your Digital Fife website

Building your website is easier when you spend a little time planning first. Think about what your visitors need, what information you already have, and who will keep the site up to date. You do not need to have everything ready before you start.

1. Gather your content

Before building your website, try to collect:

• information about your organisation
• contact details
• your logo, if you have one
• photographs
• documents, such as newsletters, minutes or policies
• links to your social media pages
• links to useful services or other websites

It can help to write your website text in a notebook, Notes app or Word document first. You can check the wording with others in your group, then add it to the website when you’re ready.

Tip: Don’t worry if you don’t have everything yet. Start with the information people need most.

2. Organise your files

Choose a place to store everything related to your website. You could make folders for photos, documents, logos and policies.

If several people help manage the website, consider using a shared folder so everyone can find the files they need. Make sure the people updating the site know how to access it.

Give files clear, descriptive names before uploading them. For example, community-centre.jpg or room-hire-form.pdf tells you what a file contains. Avoid names such as IMG_1234.jpg or final-version-2.pdf. You can find more advice in our Help Hub guidance on naming files.

Keeping your files organised will make the website easier to update in future.

3. Decide whether you need to upload a document

Having information saved in a Word document does not mean you need to upload that document to the website. Ask whether visitors would be better served by reading the information directly on a web page.

Page text is usually easier to read on a phone, easier to update and quicker for visitors to find. Documents are useful for things people may need to save or print, such as meeting minutes, reports and forms.

If a document is for reading, a PDF is usually more suitable than a Word file. Use a Word file when people need to download and edit it. Whatever format you choose, make sure the content is readable. Avoid uploading a photo or scan of text when you can provide text people can select and read.

4. Plan how your website will be maintained

Before deciding what pages you need, think about who will look after the website once it is live. Ask yourselves:

• Who will be responsible for updating it?
• Will more than one person be editing it?
• How often is it likely to be updated?
• How much time can your group realistically spend on it?

The answers will help you choose what to include. For example, news and events pages are useful if someone can update them regularly. If updates are likely to be occasional, a simpler website may be easier to manage.

5. Plan your content and pages

Think about what you want visitors to be able to find or do. Make a list of the information, services and documents your organisation wants to share.

Your content might include information about your organisation, upcoming events, room hire, volunteering opportunities, meeting updates and contact details. Group related information together to decide which pages you need. This could become:

• Home
• About Us
• What’s On
• Get Involved
• Documents
• Contact

These are examples, not pages every website must have. You might put meeting minutes on a Meetings page rather than create a separate Documents page.

Your list of pages is a simple site map. Keep it tidy, with clear page names and links to important information. This helps people find their way around. It also helps search engines discover and understand your pages.

6. Design for your visitors

Most people visit a website because they are looking for specific information or want to complete a task. Ask yourselves:

• What information are visitors most likely to look for?
• What do we want them to do?
• Can they find what they need in a few steps?

Check your site on a phone as well as a computer. Make sure the menu is clear and the most important information is still easy to find on a smaller screen.

Remember

Start with a clear, manageable website that your group can keep current. You can make changes as you learn what visitors need.

Need help?

If you need help planning your website, contact the Digital Fife team.