A helpful guide for efficient planning in the crucial first stages your web site.

Define what you want your site to do for you

Give due attention to the factors in the top half this page - they concern specifying the back bone of the entire site, and if the backbone is incorrect the entire structure will need to be rebuilt before continuing on.

Also see "simplify!", as part of this backbone may involve a data enabled page format. The purpose of any site is to sell something, tell something or show something. You have to define the end purpose of your site before you start production. I start from the end and work my way back. It is much more likely you'll "get there" if you know where "there" is.

If you are starting a medium to large project, plan every step of your journey, you will arrive alive (financially) and on time. A designer can't envision your dream. A designer can only help you accomplish what you carefully outline for him or her to do for you - and the devil is always in the details. Every detail not given could be a spec not met. If your site is sure to be only a few pages - heck, we'll wing it!

If you would like to see how carefully a publicly traded corporate web site plans a project, read eAngler_Requirements (1).doc. This document contains the specs given me for eAngler.com's proposed Business to Business (B2B) site . This was a very large undertaking and I realize the project specification may be a bit over kill for the average client but you will see some of the considerations they made before "breaking ground".

What does your business or organization do - tell, sell or show?
What do you want your web site to do for you - tell, sell or show?

A web site is not advertising — It is a tool that must be advertised.
Unless you are a non profit organization, you must determine how you are going to generate revenue and make a profit.

First decide what type of site you need - visually lush display case, heavily programmed info source, shopping cart sales center or a combination of any of the three. Unless you are a non profit organization, you must determine how you are going to generate revenue and make a profit from this venture. A free consultation with onlinedesign can help you define your mission and reach your destination.
Decide the level of technology needed - This will be at the root of the construction. This is an extension of "define your mission" covered in detail in the "simplify!" section. It involves the page format needed to perform the required tasks of your site's mission. The objective is neither unnecessary complication nor too little technology to execute these tasks.
If you have any plans of expanding, have your site set up for growth from the start. It is more efficient to design in options for later use than to totally re-build the site when you expand.

DETAILS

If you are, for example, planning a model showcase, real estate site or a product sales site you will need quality photographs to represent your product to a distant customer. Photography and/or editing skill is a must. That is a specialty here at onlinedesign.

On a product sales site the picture sells the product - the actual item sold arrives after the sale in the mail". In this case a picture is not worth a thousand words, it is worth a thousand dollars! In the case of real estate that worth would be many thousands of dollars. Cutting corners on cleverly representing your product would defeat your stated goal - to sell.

If, on the other hand, you are selling auto insurance with online quotes you will need to have the appropriate online software application planned and designed. There are also many pre-made applications that can be inexpensively adapted to your site.

If your goal is to disseminate information you will need a database designed. Photographs and graphics are usually scarce on these sites as all the money is spent on engineering.

CHOOSING YOUR COLOR SCHEME

The right color set is very IMPORTANT. Color is the most powerful component of all visual imagery. The right colors communicate meaning and please the eye. The wrong colors can be unpleasant and even unsettling. Bad combinations of colors can be even more unsettling.

Sometimes a color choice seems good in concept until you see it on the screen. Make use of the handy, online color checker (linked to this parent page) to see your potential web color choices displayed on-screen. It will help you choose by name and give the designer the exact code to display it on your site. Since a computer monitor transmits light instead of reflecting it, online colors have a different look than their reflective (on paper, etc.) counterparts. A designer can also create custom colors.

As a marketing tool, color can be a subliminally persuasive force.
color can capture attention, relax or irritate the eyes, and affect the legibility of text.
The wrong colors can have a very negative effect - the wrong combinations, even worse.
Background images and watermarks behind the text make it hard for many of your readers to decipher your message.

Also, experts agree - colors are seen by different ages, genders and ethic groups in many different ways. Demographics are critical to all color strategies for visual communication, be it brand identity or corporate image.

A COUPLE OF FACTS:

64% of internet users PREFER search engines to "Yellow Pages"..
57% of businesses report that internet users generate more income than off-line only customers.
38% of people interviewed stated that they were unlikely to do business with companies that did not have a web site.

Onlinedesign can help you plan your project and help you to avoid any needless complications and back pedaling. There are millions of web sites out there - we at onlinedesign don't feel the need to make a killing on each project.