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What is the first step in getting started
for our website?
The very first thing to do is to give some thought
in advance to what you want your web site to accomplish. The point
of this exercise is to realistically assess and prioritize the
goals of placing your web site online.
Once we make contact, then what happens?
First, we will discuss with you what your primary
objectives are in placing your organization on the World Wide Web.
From that discussion we'll determine what comprehensive solutions
will fulfill those goals. Once you indicate to us how extensive a
site you want, we will take all that information to collaborate in
creating a content outline that will guide the custom design
process. Your opinions and ideas are incorporated into every
aspect of this outline.
When the initial design process is complete, we carefully review
each individual web page to be certain the presentation is both
accurate and attractively portrayed.
Your completed site is uploaded to the server in a "hidden"
directory for your final approval. Any changes you want can be
made at this time. Upon your authorization, it is then published
on the web for public viewing.
Finally, we are available to assist you in developing the best web
site promotion strategy for integrating your Internet presence
into your overall public relations and marketing approach. As is
often said in cyberspace, "a web site is an ongoing process, not
just a one time project."
What happens if we occasionally need to
make content changes?
This is what is referred to as "web site
maintenance." You can either outsource the job to us to make the
changes for you on an "as needed" basis, or (in the case of your
own domain name and server) you have the option to make those
changes yourself if you have the necessary equipment and
expertise.
We have a web site, but it is not doing
much for us... can you help?
Yes. We specialize in makeover's - taking an
existing web site and transforming it into a productive,
attractive, and profitable business tool. Always remember, your
web site is a "window through which the world will view you," so
making it as professional looking as possible presents your
organization in the best possible light.
We can also provide a professional web site evaluation, where we'll
check out its HTML coding, layout, download time, graphics, and
attractiveness to search engines, then will prepare a detailed
written report for you. You select how many of the pages on your
web site you want critically analyzed - you can then make the
changes to the site yourself, or have someone else do it for you.
How long does it take to get a new web
site online?
Again, this depends on how extensive your web site
is, and also on how quickly the necessary content materials can be
gathered. We will guide you through the process of assembling your
text and graphics, then will construct your site based on what you
provide. The quicker we receive your packet of graphics and text
materials, the quicker we can begin the design process. Generally
speaking, you should realistically expect a mid-sized site to take
approximately 2 to 4 weeks to get online once we receive these
materials from you. We will give you a pretty accurate completion
date once we have the chance to review everything you send.
We have scanning equipment, so can we do
our own photo scans?
You are certainly welcomed to save some money by
doing your own scanning. However, it is essential that this
scanning be done correctly for the web, otherwise, your efforts
will not be usable.
Our outfit is not located in your
state.... will that be a problem?
Absolutely not. Most of the web site design work
we do are for organizations located around the country. The
Internet is without boundaries, and therefore you can have your
site designed by our firm here in the beautiful Pocono Mountain's
of Pennsylvania, have it hosted with us or in another part of the
country, and access it locally in your area.
Your criteria can therefore be focused on price, quality, and
customer service - three reasons why North America Outdoors is
repeatedly chosen by Outfitters, Guides and Taxidermist nationwide
who want a distinctive and successful web presence that stays
within their budget.
What pages do you want?
Think about the information you are wanting for
your web site. How many pages, what information will be on each
page.
The Home Page
Your home page must give as much information about
your web site as possible. If you are wanting a web surfer to find
your web site you need good content for the opening page of the
site.
Photo's
Show photo's. This can be very important to your
web site visitor. Whether your selling products or offering your
services for hunting and fishing you can never have enough photo's
through out your web site.
Photo Gallery
If your an Outfitter or a Guide it a good idea to
have us set up a collection of photo's. Visitors can view the
gallery page and see exactly what you have to offer. |
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Planning
Web sites are developed by groups of people to meet the needs of
other groups of people. Unfortunately, Web projects are often
approached as a "technology problem," and projects are colored
from the beginning by enthusiasms for particular Web techniques or
browser plug-ins (Flash, digital media, XML, databases, etc.), not
by real human or business needs. People are the key to successful
Web projects. To create a substantial site you'll need content
experts, writers, information architects, graphic designers,
technical experts, and a producer or committee chair responsible
for seeing the project to completion. If your site is successful
it will have to be genuinely useful to your target audience,
meeting their needs and expectations without being too hard to
use.
Although the people who will actually use your site will determine
whether the project is a success, ironically, those very users are
the people least likely to be present and involved when your site
is designed and built. Remember that the site development team
should always function as an active, committed advocate for the
users and their needs. Experienced committee warriors may be
skeptical here: these are fine sentiments, but can you really do
this in the face of management pressures, budget limitations, and
divergent stakeholder interests? Yes, you can — because you have
no choice if you really want your Web project to succeed. If you
listen only to management directives, keep the process sealed
tightly within your development team, and dictate to imagined
users what the team imagines is best for them, be prepared for
failure. Involve real users, listen and respond to what they say,
test your designs with them, and keep the site easy to use, and
the project will be a success.
What are your goals?
A short statement identifying two or three goals should be the
foundation of your Web site design. The statement should include
specific strategies around which the Web site will be designed,
how long the site design, construction, and evaluation periods
will be, and specific quantitative and qualitative measures of how
the success of the site will be evaluated. Building a Web site is
an ongoing process, not a one-time project with static content.
Long-term editorial management and technical maintenance must be
covered in your budget and production plans for the site. Without
this perspective your electronic publication will suffer the same
fate as many corporate communications initiatives — an
enthusiastic start without lasting accomplishments.
Know your audience
The next step is to identify the potential readers of your Web
site so that you can structure the site design to meet their needs
and expectations. The knowledge, background, interests, and needs
of users will vary from tentative novices who need a carefully
structured introduction to expert "power users" who may chafe at
anything that seems to patronize them or delay their access to
information. A well-designed system should be able to accommodate
a range of users' skills and interests. For example, if the goal
of your Web site is to deliver internal corporate information,
human resources documents, or other information formerly published
in paper manuals, your audience will range from those who will
visit the site many times every day to those who refer only
occasionally to the site.
Design critiques
Each member of a site development team will bring different goals,
preferences, and skills to the project. Once the team has reached
agreement on the mission and goals of the project, consensus on
the overall design approach for the Web site needs to be
established. The goal at this stage is to identify potential
successful models in other Web sites and to begin to see the
design problem from the site user's point of view.
Unfortunately, production teams rarely include members of the
target audience for the Web site. And it is often difficult for
team members who are not already experienced site designers to
articulate their specific preferences, except in reference to
existing sites. Group critiques are a great way to explore what
makes a Web site successful, because everyone on the team sees
each site from a user's point of view. Have each team member bring
a list of a few favorite sites to the critique, and ask them to
introduce their sites and comment on the successful elements of
each design. In this way you will learn one another's design
sensibilities and begin to build consensus on the experience that
your audience will have when they visit the finished site.
Content inventory
Once you have an idea of your Web site's mission and general
structure, you can begin to assess the content you will need to
realize your plans. Building an inventory or database of existing
and needed content will force you to take a hard look at your
existing content resources and to make a detailed outline of your
needs. Once you know where you are short on content you can
concentrate on those deficits and avoid wasting time on areas with
existing resources that are ready to use. A clear grasp of your
needs will also help you develop a realistic schedule and budget
for the project. Content development is the hardest, most
time-consuming part of any Web site development project. Starting
early with a firm plan in hand will help ensure that you won't be
caught later with a well-structured but empty Web site. |
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