A successful organization has a purpose for existing and a mission that drives it forward and strengthens its position in the marketplace. An organization’s Web site is how it exists online and should also have a purpose and mission that strengthens its position in the online marketplace.
The purpose of your Web site may be to share information through education, interaction, and entertainment and to gather information, store it, and easily retrieve it when needed. Your mission may be to engage visitors and persuade them to take a specific action such as contacting you, registering for an event, or purchasing from you.
Purpose can be accomplished through careful planning of the functionality of your Web site. In its simplest terms, functionality is what your Web site allows you to do, what it allows visitors to do, and what it does automatically.