One of the things I emphasise in my Website Jumpstart Checklist (sign up free here) is planning your website before you actually start creating anything! A really useful tool when you are putting pages together is a Sitemap … but what if you need help with planning BEFORE you even get to that stage?
This is where mind maps can really help.
I view a mind map as a bit a brain dump of ideas. You can put anything on there that is related to your central purpose (in this case, creating your new website) so you don’t forget things – and you can also capture miscellaneous thoughts that don’t yet have a home but that you know need further exploration before fitting them in to the correct place, or abandoning them.
You can of course use pen and paper… a very large piece of paper in reality! … but there are a host of really good mindmapping tools available, either free or paid for. The beauty of doing it digitally is that you can move topics & sub-topics around with the drag of your mouse – no restarting on yet another huge piece of paper!
The one I use, that is free for a set number of features, is Xmind. The beauty of this is that it’s free for as long as you are happy with the free features, AND it has an app for smartphones and tablets so you can update things on the move.
You can also choose from a variety of templates to get started with a certain look.
Here’s my first draft for my Website Jumpstart course, using bright colours that energise me!
A sample mindmap on Xmind
If you are a Post It fan, then you might want to take your mindmapping in a slightly different direction, and sign up for Google’s Jamboard tool. It’s also free. I find it a bit more effortful compared to Xmind – but it’s good to have alternatives as we humans have so many different ways of working and using tools.
A sample mindmap on Jamboard
Conclusion:
Play around with these tools, and any others that you hear about from friends, family & colleagues. Once you have found one or 2 that really work for you, delete any others so they don’t become distractions. It’s easier to keep track of things in one place if you possibly can.
Get in touch if you would like to chat about getting help for your website! Or leave a comment below if you have a question about this particular topic.
And do sign up for my free e-book “Website Jumpstart Checklist” below! \/
Tracey x
