Planning Your Website
Planning your website is a process that will have a tremendous effect on how it turns out. How well you have planned will effect how your new website will look, how well it will function, how completely it meets your needs and expectations, and how much it will cost!
With this worksheet you will get a check list of everything you will need to plan and create the perfect website to meet your needs.
There is a great deal you can do to reduce the total cost of your site. By planning thoroughly and providing the information we need in the form that we need, you can help us build your site quickly and to your expectations. This will save you money and possibly a few headaches!
Easy Step by Preparation Guidelines
In an effort to provide the excellent quality of service we are know for, please provide answers to the questions listed below
1. Decide purpose of site: Is your purpose to sell your products directly over the Internet? (Do you need a Shopping Cart, Merchant Account?) Or maybe you just want to advertise your business to increase brand awareness? Do you want to provide information for clients and customers or gather information from visitors to your site?
It is very important that you have a clear understanding of what your web site’s purpose is. It will help you decide how many pages your web site should have, which features you need to accomplish your goals, and how you want to interact with your visitors.
2. Do you need to register a Domain Name? (ie: www.yourname.com) If so, we can help you check availability and register your domain for you.
3. Do you need hosting? We recommend Doteasy.com for your web hosting needs, or you may choose another company to host your website. You will need to set up a general password so we can access your hosting service – this password should be changed upon completion of the project.
4. Plan out the number of pages and their titles. Now you should decide how many pages your web site needs. What will those pages should be called, and what information you want on them? Some common page titles for the average site are: Home, Contact, Services, Product, About Us, Links.
5. A copy of company logo, letterhead and other marketing collateral – It is very helpful if you will include a copy of your company's letterhead, brochures, catalog, etc. so we can see how you present your company image.
6. Decide specifically what graphics/photos - you provide all graphics and photographs for the web site. You many chose from our stock photos for an additional cost.
Graphics Content
• The quality appearance of your Web site has a lot to do with the photos or graphics you choose for your Web pages. Clipart can be used, but tends to make the pages look amateurish. Photos are probably best.
• You may send graphics to us only in digitized.
• Prepare captions for each photo and note which page you wanted the picture on.
• You may use stock photos you purchase online, please note you are responsible for taking care of all copyright requirements. Or we will purchase and download the appropriate photo, place it on the Web page indicated, and bill you for the photo cost. If you want us to find and select photos, we charge our hourly rate.
• Number of graphic content per page will be charged according to the design package ordered.
7. Compose and format text to be on each page of site. All text and information is to be provided by the client and provided on a disc or by e-mail on Microsoft Word attachment. We do not write content for your site. If you need us to search for free articles (see notes) our hourly rates apply. If you need us to get a freelance writer for your project, we charge our hourly rate and the freelance agent costs.
Text Content
• You must set up a separate Word processor file for each Web page. Use this worksheet to indicate which file names correspond to which Web pages.
• We prefer Microsoft Word; you must format the text exactly as you would like it to look on your website.
• Please do not send us a draft of your text. Send us your final version. While we expect to make minor changes here and there after the Web pages are prepared, we charge extra to format and insert brand new text. Most word processors allow you to count the approximate number of words. Web pages which contain more than 1,200 words may be subject to additional charges, especially if they require a good deal of formatting.
8. Website name and title, keywords, site descriptions and categories – this information is critical for your web listing on search engines and most important for coding the site so people can find your website. It is very important that you include keywords in your web content and in the names of your photographs.
9. Provide sample of web sites you like - Color and Accents – For the most part, we recommend a white background for best readability and contrast, with color harmony throughout the rest of the webpage. Please note your preference. Having samples of websites you like helps create final product you will enjoy.
10. Decide if you want any additional options for your site: Shopping Cart, Site-Map, Guestbook, Links to Related Sites, Sound or Music, Animation, Additional Forms, Java Scrollers& Effects, Autoresponders, Password Protection, Bulletin Boards, Database and PDF files.