When you decide you want to design a new website, it’s often difficult to find an idea that you can use, let alone one that might actually make you money. Have you run out of ideas for a website? Are you keen to create a site rather than buy a potentially expensive yet established website? Then how do you go about coming up with ideas? Here’s my little guide on idea generation that I personally use to come up with my new concepts.

Brainstorm the things that annoy you

Get a sheet of paper and create a list or mind map, whichever you prefer, of all the things that annoy you. Start coming up with ideas of the kinds of things you would say “wouldn’t it be useful if…” or “I just wish there was a gadget/website/device that could do that….”, or “isn’t it annoying when you have do this….”.

Using those phrases will help lead you into a problem-solution frame of mind and possibly identify areas for a new product, service or website. I know for a fact that this is the very same technique used by inventors to come up with new patentable ideas. You will come up with some things that you just will not be able to remedy, but at the same time, you will come up with some interesting and solvable problems.

Generate solutions for the problems

For each of the problems you discovered in step 1, come up with as many solutions as you can. So use a sheet of paper for each problem listed above, and then mind map or list the solutions to that problem. Put in as much detail as possible. Also add anything that might be “cool” or useful, as they might be profitable ideas in themselves.

Critique the solutions

For each of the solutions you have identified, weigh up the pros and cons for your ideas to establish if they are rubbish or plausible. Estimate the challenges for that solution, the costs, timescale for implementation, resources needed, skills needed, etc. This will help you rationalise if the idea is any good or not. You might want to create an ordered list of the best ideas you have, starting with the best ideas going down to the weaker ideas. This can serve as a priority list.

Research the ideas

Once you have your list of ideas, do your research and find out more about the competition, if the idea is unique, any similar implementations, etc. This will help lead do a decision of whether or not the idea is worth implementing by you. Perhaps even try creating a prototype to see if your idea is possible.

And that’s it. A simple 4 part process, but each step requires a great deal of time and thought so that you don’t waste time trying to implement a useless idea.

I get ideas at random times but I have a terrible memory. So I personally have a notebook that I jot down my ideas in as and when I have them. Some ideas I implement straight away, some I leave for another day.