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Planing your site design....
If you're ready to build your site but aren't
going to do the work yourself, you'll need to hire a Web site developer.
Too often, having a Web site built turns into
a nightmare of additions here, tweaks there and the eventual rejection
of work done so far. You and your developer go back to the drawing board
feeling resentful and angry -- and you may feel a lot poorer.
Even if an impasse is not reached, insufficient
planning can cause mix-ups, duplicated work and a general feeling of
"where are we?"
You can avoid this by planning the entire site
before the developer writes the first line of HTML code. There are countless
factors to consider when planning a site, but the basic framework can
be constructed from three components: site map, content list and checklist.
Site map
Detail is the key. Give your developer complete and detailed information
on what you wish your site to include. The developer will create a site
map that should contain:
A chart of every page.
Apart from general content, this will list every component page, no
matter how small, that will go into the site, including:
Form
pages (online order, query, contact and subscription forms).
Thank-you
pages leading from the form pages.
User
agreements, such as disclaimer statements that may include your privacy
policy.
Copyright
statements, to discourage the copying of your content for commercial
use.
Details of exactly
what each page will contain, such as:
Opt-in
forms for online newsletter sign-ups.
Footer
information -- this is a convenient place to put a physical address,
e-mail address and copyright statement.
Banners,
for external and internal advertising. (Internal banners promote a particular
page on your site.)
Graphics,
including photographs, charts and so on.
Text.
Details of how navigation
will be treated,
including how each page is linked to the rest of the site, and what
emphasis will be given to certain sections. Apart from navigation menus,
include details of how else the pages will be linked.
Options include:
Hyperlinked
text
Internal
banner systems.
Once your developer sends you the site map, check
to see if all the important functions (marketing, selling, query resolution,
information) are addressed, then study it in combination with the four
"customer experience" questions:
What
do I want my visitors to know on this page?
What
do I want my visitors to feel right now?
What
do I want my visitors to do at this point?
Where
do I want my visitors to go next?
If there are any areas where answers or intentions
are not clear, discuss them with your developer and amend the site map.
Don't sign off on it until you're completely happy. This should be the
last chance for additions and changes; this protects the developer from
having to produce extra work for the same fee and protects you from
delays caused by last-minute changes.
Content list
As soon as the site map is finalized, work with your developer to compile
a list of every piece of content needed and who will supply it. The
content list is not just for articles, press releases and so on; it
is a complete list of every item needed, and should include:
Main
body text for each page.
Wording
for navigation.
Articles.
Wording
for fields and forms.
Wording
for thank-you, and other secondary pages.
Photographs.
Banners.
Graphics
(apart from those included in the page templates).
Keywords
and meta tag content.
User
agreement.
Privacy
statement.
Copyright
statement.
Any
other item indicated by the site map.
A "who will supply" column is important,
as a void here will indicate the need to hire an outside writer to help
complete the inventory. Copies of this list should be sent to each outside
content supplier, with strict deadlines attached. Your developer should
have all content by the time building starts on your site. Missing content
can hold up the process.
Checklist
Now that there's a detailed site map and a stack of content, ask
your developer for a checklist of all tasks that need to be completed.
It should be available to each person contributing to the construction
of the site, and you are entitled to a daily progress report.
Are deadlines being met? Are any areas lagging
behind? Why? The answers not only form a basis for your developer's
troubleshooting but also offer the assurance that you are aware of progress
and problems.
