When setting up a website, it's tempting to include all sorts of content and features that seem important, interesting or just cool. It's difficult to decide what really should be included and what can be left out. It's also difficult to think of everything that your visitors want to see on the site. It's important to have enough information and features so that your website is useful to visitors, without including anything that they don't need or want to see. So how do you decide what goes online and what is left out?

First of all, you need to define the purpose of your website. A common error is to think that your website is a place to put everything you want other people to see. This is not the case. If you fill your site with what YOU want, your visitors will lose interest and leave. Your website is for your visitors and should be filled with information and services that THEY want. Ask yourself what the purpose of your site is from the point of view of your visitors.

Once you have defined the purpose of your website, you need to explore what information, services and features your visitors expect to find on the site. It is often difficult to step outside of our own visions for the site and see things from another perspective, so it can be helpful to ask other people their opinions. Your site is likely to have visitors who know a lot about the subject of your site and others who know nothing about it. You need to cater to visitors from both ends of the spectrum, as well as those who fall somewhere in the middle. Ask a wide range of people what they would expect to find when visiting your website, and what they would want to see first. Be sure to include all the information your visitors want, and make it easy to find with clear links and consistent navigation.

If you're trying to decide whether you should include a particular feature or piece of information, think about whether it would benefit your visitors. If the answer is yes, then certainly include it. If the answer is no then you need to think carefully before putting it on your site. Some things like adverts don't benefit the visitors, but do benefit you, the site owner. In these cases, add them only if they won't annoy your visitors. If nobody will benefit, it's probably best to leave it off. If it will annoy your visitors, it's definitely best to leave it off.

There are some things that should be included on almost all websites. Your homepage should make it clear

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