Web Strategy

What is it? Why do you need it? And what do you do with it?

“A Web Strategy is a vision (often documented) that clearly articulates how you will use the web to
help achieve or exceed your organisation’s business objectives. It's a measurable plan of attack specific to you; not a one-size-fits-all blueprint.”

Unlike many other endeavours within the IT universe, Web Strategy can feel a bit more nebulous – that’s because no two strategies will ever be the same. This is for the simple reason that your organisation is unique – so your strategy should be as well.

What’s included in a Web Strategy?

A strategy can be as big or as small as you like. But there are some key areas of focus that should be part of your strategy. It should include things like: project background, vision, objectives, goals, positioning, landscape, opportunities, success measures (ROI), analytics, audience, technology, promotion (SEO/SEM), accessibility, social media, governance, brand, content and so on.

This list is not exhaustive and not all these components are mandatory. For example, if you’re a social media start-up then your strategy will be different to an e-commerce retailer or a public agency. What’s really important is that the strategy receives buy-in from everyone in your organisation and that it articulates some clear, realistic and measurable targets.

Why do I need one?

You don’t. You can probably survive without one. You can also build a house without plans and you can probably find your way around a new city without a map; it’ll probably just take a bit longer, cost more and you might not end up where you wanted to.

What do I do with it?

The final part of your strategy should be the roadmap. Based on everything in your strategy, the roadmap will provide the actual plan for what you’re going to execute (time, effort, resources, milestones, deliverables, cost and so on).

The roadmap might stipulate, for example, that you can start coding tomorrow, or that your online presence should be limited (and you should instead be focused on mobile delivery) or that you need six months’ research before you do anything. It just depends on you.

Your strategy should be reviewed regularly against the vision you’ve created and goals you’ve set yourself. The roadmap will include these dates – so it should become an ongoing process of reviewing, refining and improving.

If you’re wondering what the web can do for your business or you’d just like to chat what’s happening online in your sector, contact giles.brown@intergen.co.nz.