Web Planning Guide

NOTE: You may copy and paste this into a word processor.
We recommend this method for submission to us.

 

This Web Planning Guide is intended to act as guide in the discovery process of developing a web site.  Ask yourself the following questions.  Note that some questions may not apply. Other questions maybe beyond your current understand but can be used as a check list of thing to ask Computer Partners to establish a complete and total understanding of the entire project.

 

PURPOSE: 
(Try and answer as many questions about the purpose and objectives of your web site as possible.)

Why do we want a web site?

 

 

 

What do we expect to accomplish?

 

 

 

Write a one-paragraph purpose for your web site.

 

 

 

 

OBJECTIVE:

We want our site to primarily do the following:

Serve the needs of current and future clients

Explain our products and services

Bring in new clients or customers to our location

Take orders online

Other:

 

 

We want our site to secondarily do the following:

Serve the needs of current and future clients

Explain our products and services

Bring in new clients or customers to our location

Take orders online

Other:

 

 

Who is our target audience?

 

 

 

Who will be looking for our site?

 

 

 

Who will become interested if they reach our site accidentally?

 

 

 

What will we offer on our site? (State these generally. You will be more comprehensive later.)

 

 

 

Will it contain:

Company Information?

explanation of our services?

products?

online ordering?

links to other sites?

Other:

 

 

 

What will get visitors to return to our site?

 

 

 

 

WEB PROMOTION:
(How do we plan to promote/market the site to bring customers and clients? if not sure consult with Computer Partners.)

Submissions to:

Major Search Engines

Major Directories

Multiples of Search Engines

Industry-Specific Directories

General Directories

Reciprocal Linking with Others

Internet Press Releases

Marketing in Newsgroups

Traditional Means:

Business cards

letterhead

newspaper and magazine

flyers

information at our place of business

How do we expect to know if our site is successful?

 

 

 

 

DEVELOPMENT:
(For a small company all of the following may be done by one person, but in larger firms it is important that all the players understand their responsibilities.)

Who will oversee the development of the site?

 

 

Who is responsible for gathering information and getting it to the developer?

 

 

Who communicates with the development team during development?

 

 

Who previews and authorizes acceptance?

 

 

 

CONSTRUCTION:
(If you do not already have a domain selected and registered we can help you with all the questions under this section.)

What will we call the site?

(Some domain names are taken already, so pick 3 possibilities)

1.  

2.  

3.  

What "Top Level Domain" would we prefer? (Check all that apply)

.com   .org   .net   .ca   .

Ideally, your domain name will be similar, or somehow related, to your formal business name. This will appear on every page of your site and helps convey your message. The name should be short but informative.

What keywords do you think that clients will use to find us and what we offer? (List as many as you can, then number them in highest probability to lowest.)

1.  

2.  

3.  

4.  

5.  

6.  

7.  

8.  

9.  

 

In a 20-25-word sentence, how do we describe our site, incorporating the most relevant keywords from above?

 

 

 

What look or appearance do we want to have? Create a list of URLs for sites you like, and note what you like about each one, and why it appeals to you.

 

 

 

Basic color scheme?

 

 

 

Masthead/logo/main graphic?

 

 

 

Do we want to provide special means of communication?

Just email form

Email Autoresponder

Chat Line

Message Boards

Guestbook

Newsletter

List Serve

Other:

 

AREAS OF CONTENT:

Use the chart below to visualize the structure of the website.

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

  • Logo

  • Navigation

  • Lead

  • Information

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2.  
3.  
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1. Level 1 is your index page, reserved for your top level navigation, and leading information.

2. Level 2 identifies your key areas, and provides navigation to sub areas. What would the headings for the level 2 pages be?

3. Level 3 identifies sub-key areas, or content material. What would the headings for the level 3 pages be?

4. Level 4 should be content material. What would the topics for the level 4 pages be?

*Research has shown that users lose interest if they have to click more than three times. (This is a suggestion only; you can have as many key areas as you want.)

 

HOSTING:
(We trust that you will host your site on one of Computer Partners servers, however if for some reason you wish to host somewhere else please indicate below.)

Where will we have our site hosted?

Hosted by Computer Partners?

Hosted with our Internet Service Provider?

Ex. (www.serviceprovider.com/)

Hosted with some other hosting provider?

Ex. (www.otherprovider.com/)

Do we want several different email addresses?

 

 

 

Do we plan to add additional functionality to our site in the future where we need to consider whether the ISP has the appropriate tools?

 

 

 

UPDATING:

How will our site be maintained?

 

 

How often will it be updated?

 

 

Who will do the updating?

 

 

Do we want pages requiring updating to be done in a template so an office staff person can maintain the sections?

 

 

Which sections?

 

 

Who will periodically check links, check competing sites to determine our competitive edge, or check our status in the Search Engines?

 

 

 

COST:

Initial Expenditure

Discovery

This will involve the initial decision-making, and result in a strategic plan, site structure, and site standards.

 $

Graphic Design

For an outstanding image that works well on the Internet, a onetime fee to create appropriate graphics is an investment.

 $

Site Creation

At this stage we will create all the templates and pages, up to the initial approval, ready to launch a Web site.

 $

Domain Registration

This will involve a one-time fee to your hosting company, to set up your domain, plus the initial registration fee.

 $

Hosting

Include your first year hosting fees here, as some fee will be expected up-front.

 $

Search Engine Optimization

Various levels of SEO can be performed. Do you want to include this fee in your planning?

 $

Other

 

 $

Other

 

 $

Ongoing Expense

Maintenance

 

 $

Additions

 

 $

Tracking & Analysis

 

 $

Domain renewal

 

 $

Hosting

 

 $

Other

 

 $