At the very least your Web plan ought to have a market forecast, traffic forecast, sales (or business benefits) forecast, expense budget, and specific milestones. Be sure to include these essential tables as part of your plan. Even though we agree that Web plans will vary depending on the exact nature of your plan, it is hard to imagine a plan that doesn't contain, at the very least, these five essential tables. Usually you'll have these plus several others.
Market Forecast
Analyze your market by segments and project market growth for five years. Look for the details in the chapter on Market Forecast.
Traffic Forecast
A Web plan should include a reasonable estimate of future traffic. There are several measures of traffic that might be used, such as page views, sessions, etc. The important point is not what measure is used, but whether it can be applied consistently and tracked for achievement. Look for the details in the chapter on Traffic Forecast.
Sales (or Business Benefits) Forecast
Forecast your sales by product or service. The mathematics are simple, but important. You can't do a Web plan without a sales forecast. The details are discussed in the chapter on Sales Forecast.
Expense Budget
The budget is another absolute essential. How much are you going to spend? On what? How does your spending relate to strategy? Look for more on budgeting in the chapter on Expense Budget.
Milestones
This is perhaps the most important table in the whole plan: concrete milestones to make it real, with managers, deadlines, and budgets. More on this will be presented in the chapter titled Keep it Alive.
Sample tables from Web Strategy Pro
