Step 1 – Figure out what you want; this doesn’t have to be specific, but make sure you know at least some basic information and can give a detailed answer to the following pre-contact question:
What do you want to accomplish with your website and what is your first priority? (top 4 answers: produce sales leads, sell products directly, promote a physical service or retail location, provide support/information for existing customers)
Do you already have website copy or will it need to be written for/with you?
Do you want e-commerce functionality and if so how many products/services do you want to sell (approximate number is great)?
Do you have a plan in place for SEO and Internet Marketing? If you don’t, I would recommend a plan to allocate at least an equal budget for the web design and SEO/Marketing portions of your website. What’s the point of having a website no one will see.