Who Should Spearhead Your New Website Project on Your Internal Team?
When it comes to launching a new website, there are a lot of moving parts. From developing the content strategy and user-friendly design to managing the project timeline and budget – you should be prepared to be involved throughout the process.
But before you can even get started on the project, you need to know who should spearhead your website design and development efforts on your internal team. It’s critical that one person is the main contact to manage communication between your internal team and external partners.
So who should lead the website project? The answer isn’t always straightforward, but here are a few helpful guidelines that will help you decide.
Who deeply understands the company?
First and foremost, the person leading the website initiative should have a deep understanding of your company’s brand, mission, and business goals. After all, these are all essential components of successful business — and a successful website.
For companies that do have a dedicated marketing team, the ideal candidate for this role is usually a senior-level marketing leader such as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or Head of Marketing/Communications.
Who can work collaboratively?
Whether you’re designing and developing in-house or with the help of the firm, a website project always needs the help of more than one team member.
Your internal website lead should enlist help and feedback from their colleagues. Depending on the company, this could include:
- Asking each department to provide content drafts or images they’d like featured
- Pain points they’ve encountered when engaging with customers
- Feedback on the website as it goes through the web design and development process
The web lead could even form a small internal task force to help make decisions throughout the process (ensuring one contact person is responsible for communicating with both internal and external stakeholders). Ultimately, however, the website project lead is responsible for strategically considering and vetting internal recommendations before deciding which ones to implement. To help with this, good questions to ask when assessing feedback include: Is a common pain point? Will this improve the user’s experience? Will this help the user take the action we want them to take?
Who can communicate effectively?
When you’re working on a new website for your organization, there may also be other colleagues and leaders the project lead will need to communicate with along the way. This will differ among companies and organizations.
For example, a large organization with a C-Suite or Board of Directors may request official updates or presentations on progress and milestones. A smaller company may just require that the owner signs off on the content and design. Or, in some rare cases, the web lead may have full autonomy to make decisions as they see fit without additional buy-in.
Regardless, ensure the person chosen to spearhead your website project has stellar communication skills and a solid understanding of who needs to be involved throughout the process.
Ultimately, having an organized team structure and plan in place will make launching your new site much easier for everyone involved!
Communication Loop Example
Who is organized?
And last, but certainly not least, your webiste project lead should be someone who is organized and able to keep up with deadlines, provide content and approvals when required, strategically vet internal suggestions, etc.
The ideal web lead can effectively manage all the pieces of the project in a cohesive, organized manner.
Deciding who should spearhead your website project isn’t always easy — but it doesn’t have to be impossible either!
Start by identifying someone who has an understanding of your company’s brand, mission, and business goals as well as experience in (or understanding of) marketing. Then enlist help from other departments within your organization if needed (e.g. content drafts or images). Finally, consider forming an internal task force so that everyone can stay up-to-date on progress without overwhelming any one individual team member with too much responsibility at once. With these tips in mind, you’ll be sure to find just the right person for this important job!
Need a Little Extra Help?
Need a little extra help from outside your company? Learn more about how inConcert can be an extension of your internal team for your next website project. Contact us for a website design and development estimate.
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