Based on your content audit, this exercise si the first step to defining who you are communicating with and what you should have online for them to view / interact with.

Before creating GWP.org we did a survey of all our regions and partners and asked them what they would like to see improved on the website, and what they thought was great about what we already had, collated this information agains our goals, and prioritised their comments. The end of this process should give you some, if not all, points that you must make sure your website solves.

First remind yoruself of the GWP Strategic Goals, especially Goal 3.http://www.gwp.org/en/Our-approach/Strategic-goal. Next,  identify the types of people/orgnisations and groups who are intersted in your site and what you think they might be after, creating a basic profile for each.

The next step is to formalise the list of each groups needs. Create a list of "needs" for each group. When you are done, order by your "needs" column, and record which groups have a common interest.

To help you do this we have create a basic excel template which you can download.

Now, referr to your keyword and document list. Identify which groups would be using which keyword, or document. This will help you work out what people are looking for, and what is popular, and also make sure you don't miss anything.

Your list will (and should) be quite different from the template! 

Share this list, especially the group profiles, with your steering comittee, coordinator or any other people who know GWP well. They will be able to add to it and help you prioritise.

Surveying your audience

Next - find out if you are right! Many things will not be obvious or might simply be missing. One of the easiest ways to find out is to talk to your audience. This might be by conduting a phone interview with key people and you taking notes, or distribute a survey. Survey Monkey provides an excellent free service to do that.

If you use a survey, design it simply, and send it to key people (DO NOT spam everyone you know, choose those people who you have a good relationship with) that are most likely to help. Make sure you follow up. They should be able to complete the questionnaire in under 4minutes.

Ask clear and simple questions, for example:

What do you like about the website?

Is not a "bad" question, but it needs more.

What do you think is missing from our website today?

We want to improve the website we have. What three things do you think are successful, and what three things do you think could be improved on our website?

Success 1:

Success 2:

... etc.

Improvement 1:

Improvment 2:

... etc.

Questions that help you make decisions can also come from other sources. For example, if you create a list of websites that you "compete" with, or contain information that is of a similar type, ask in your survey what your audience thinks of these sites:

Of the following websites, which do you regularly read:

(1) The BBC

(2) New York Times

(3) UN Water

...etc.

Which one do you think is the best? Why?

Which is the worst? Why?

You should do the survey yourself too!

Next Steps

Once you have the results, entered them into your sheet, you can now work out what is most important. This is the hard part!

once you have a clear idea of what your site must deliver you can move on to designing your site map.