If you are looking for the best way to plan your website structure, you’ll want to try starting with a visual, or conceptual, sitemap generator. This handy tool not only helps you create a website, it also helps you maintain a consistent voice, while clearing away clutter. Unlike a website builder, a visual sitemap lets you have full creative control over your website. It is the first step to building a website that is both logically organized and visually appealing.
Before You Build Your Site
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| Example of a Wireframe |
Your website needs a plan, and there are plenty of ways to create one. Professional website designers might sketch wireframes, or develop stunning design mockups. This helps them create beautiful designs that serve a purpose. For the everyday website owner, however, these tools may be a bit out of reach. Many people may choose to use a website builder which will organize the information into a predefined template. However, if you are looking for more personalization you’ll want to start by planning your idea with a visual sitemap.
Visual sitemaps communicate what you want to have on your website, using simple diagramming tools. Even if you hire a website designer to put together a dream site, they may not know how you want it organized, and will organize it how they deem fit. Depending on how well you are able to communicate your needs, you may not get anything better than a template. If you are looking to build a personalized website and have hired a designer, planning your site first with a visual sitemap generator is a good idea.
Maintain a Targeted Website
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| Conceptual Website Design |
Why are you creating your website? Are you setting up an online store? Perhaps you are creating a portfolio site. Whatever the reasons, a visual sitemap can help you maintain a consistent voice and focus. Using this easy-to-use tool, you can plan for all of the pages on your website, including those with multiple user-options and scenarios.
When creating a website, especially those with large amounts of pages, it is easy to design in a bubble. This means pages are created separately, and may lack a logical connection to the other. This can lead to a bad experience for website visitors, who may become frustrated when they cannot find what they are looking for. This is because the designer was thinking about a page, while the visitors are looking at the entire site.
Another problem – one that is easily cured by visual sitemap generators – is duplicate content. Even if the words are unique, multiple pages that discuss the same thing can be confusing to those seeking information. When you start with a visual sitemap, you are able to see what goes where, prevent wasteful pages and stay on target for your chosen demographic.
Stay In Control with Collaboration
Even if your website is being designed by a third party, it is still your website. You should have full control over what goes into it, how it is organized, and how it looks. Unfortunately, if you are not fluent in web-design it might be difficult to keep up with the many steps involved in creating a site. Designers often deliver in progress work in formats that make little sense to the untrained eye, if they deliver anything at all.
By using a visual sitemap at the beginning, you are already reducing the potential for miscommunication. However, when you combine it with an online service like Slickplan, you make the progress incredibly more seamless.
Slickplan is an online-based sitemap tool, that includes a powerful visual sitemap generator. Because it is online, it makes collaboration a breeze. To use it, simply create your visual sitemap and share it with those that would be building or otherwise contributing to the site. They are able to see your design, create wireframes and design mockups, and gather content to go on it. You, on the other hand, are able to login at any time, approve suggestions, and monitor progress. It’s a great way to create a website and ensure that your site is not only planned exactly the way you want it but designed that way as well.
