Your Website Is a Product, Not a Project!

Is it true that you are planning to build a new website for your organization or company? You may have already come across very many companies out there ready to support your endeavours to build or redesign your website. Be that as it may, what is the goal of your Website? Is it simply to attract clients, be part of the trend or achieve a great sales tool? Have you thought about your Website as a product and not as a project? The difference between a product and a project is that a product provides solutions to customers, while a project is any activity designed to create a unique set of products or services.

The Difference Between Product and Project

In this article, we answer why you should treat your website like a product and not as a project.

Before we delve into the details, let us take a quick look at the differences between a product and a project.

Product 

1. A product is a continuous process designed to create value for customers, improve service or product and introduce new and valuable features to the users.
2. A product has no defined deadline.
3. A product has a lifecycle characterized by continuous improvements according to the evolving needs of customers.

Project

1. A project is a temporary activity designed to fulfil the requirements of a specific client.
2. A project has a defined deadline outlining what needs to be accomplished, by who and when.
3. A project’s lifecycle is short-lived.

A Project Oriented Website Has No Value

If you have been managing your Website like a project, it is time to rethink your approach. Consumers love websites that provide their needs and respond to their questions. A great website marks the beginning of a long story that keeps fresh, evolves and serves the ever-changing customer needs. So a great deal of cautious planning and a robust product-oriented approach is required so your customers can get long term benefits from your Website.

What customers are looking for from your Website include:

Education – they need to learn about vital information about products and services.

Connection – Customers want to share their views about your products and services with their peers who share similar beliefs and opinions.

Interaction – Interactive tools such as online banking enable users can conduct business through the Website

Transaction – Business transactions such as online shopping is a catch for many customers

Sharing information with other users about the products and services provided by the Website.

These are just some of the few needs that consumers are looking to satisfy when they visit your Website. Your Website is a product and not a project. Treating your Website as a project speeds up the rate at which your Website will become stale and push users away.

What Do Successful Products Look Like?

All successful product based websites seek to:

Attract the right people, to the right content, at the right time. A product based website must attract people seeking solutions to their problems. A product based Website attracts both potential and loyal customers who come back seeking more answers.

Provide value. A great product based website communicates its benefits to the customers and delivers realistic outcomes.

Convert. A product based Website converts users from curiosity to loyalty.

How to Treat Your Website Like a Product

Think of your website as a product. If a product is not filling the void in the consumer’s lives, it becomes irrelevant and unattractive. To attain the best out of your Website, you must treat it as a product. You must design, build, update, and provide regular maintenance. And, this is what a website needs to attract visitors and generate revenue. Productive. Here are the key steps that you will consider when designing a product based website.

Generate a smart idea – an intelligent website always starts with generating a set of ideas that guides the output. These three questions will help you carve out a bright design for your website

1. 1. What is the concept behind your website? Is it to attract more customers or increase sales?
   2. How will your website solve a customer’s problem?
   3. What will you benefit from this website?

Design product strategy– the overall goal of building your website should fit into your plan. For example, ask how this Website will solve the customer’s specific requirements? The answer to this question will help you move to the planning stage.

Plan the product – Find out what are the problems of your consumers and what kind of solutions do you plan to offer. In other words, draw up a market requirements’ document which will help you plan the type of products your website is going to offer.

Define your product – in the case of a website; this stage outlines how your products will solve the consumers’ problems.

Plan the launch – You need to develop an implementation plan. Part of the program will show how you plan to integrate multimedia content such as text, images, video and audios on your website.

Launch – You need to raise awareness about your website, and part of this awareness and achieve visibility at the start.

Management – Just as reporting is an essential pillar of product management, the same applies to website management. Your analytics report should supplement other statements to support the day to day management of your website.

Positioning your Website as a product, right from the start, will yield compelling and relevant Website for your consumers. By adopting the mindset of your website, being a product will help you get your next customer and lay the foundation for the impact of your site to the users.

Are you about to embark on Website design, or need to support to redesign your Website to reflect the components of the product? Find top firms for your next big project at Sadja WebSolutions.