The site map is the plan of your website, showing what will be covered and where. Before any design or build stages happen, you will agree your site map with your web design agency. If you have ideas about what needs to be covered on your website, be sure to tell them. At the same time, be prepared to listen to these experts. They will design a site map based on many different aspects, including SEO and user experience. Take their reasoning on board and be prepared to compromise on your own ideas, if it is for the best.

Once your site map is agreed, this will usually be the point at which an agency can give you a full price quote. The site map determines the amount of work that needs to go into the site, dictating the number of pages that need to be written, designed and programmed.