Web planning

Defining the purpose of the website is a very complex and important process. It is essential to take time and plan what is needed in the website. We need to define the target audience and market as well as the content that will be published. Our approach to Web planning is very thorough and includes the definition of six key elements that will later be used to design and build successful website. These elements are…

Context

In very simplistic way, web design and publishing is like traditional printing. Every website is an information display container similar to a newspaper, a magazine, a book or a catalog. The difference is that web design is using framework based on digital code and display technologies that are used to construct and maintain information in multiple formats. Web publishing is the most sophisticated and complex method of presenting information in today's World.

Purpose

The definition of purpose of the website is one of the first and probably most important steps in the planning process. A purpose statement should show focus on what the website will have to accomplish and when clearly defined it will help the rest of the planning process. Setting short and long term goals for the website will make the purpose clearer and set the foundation for the future when expansion, modification, and improvement will take place.

Audience

Defining the audience is a very important step in the website planning process since it is the group of people who represent the market being targeted. These people will be viewing the website for a specific reason and it is important to know exactly what they are looking for and when they expect when visiting the site. The target audience is usually determined by understanding of what visitors want to do and when they will come to the website. To build an effective website that will deliver the desired content to the targeted audience we have to consider the following characteristics:

• Audience Characteristics
• Information Preferences
• Computer Specifications
• Web Experience

Content

After the purpose of website is defined we have to do the content evaluation and organize its structure according to the user needs. In the process of gathering the content being offered, any items that do not support the defined purpose or may not reach the target audience should be removed. The next step is to organize the basic information structure by categorizing the content and organizing it according to user needs. Each category should be named with a concise and descriptive title that will become a link on the website. Planning for the site's content ensures that the needs of the target audience and the purpose of the site will be fulfilled.

Compatibility and restrictions

It is important to take into consideration market share of modern browsers and plan for the compatibility. It is because not all of them are fully W3C standards compliant yet some of them are very popular and widely used by web surfers. Making a website compatible with one browser may result in restrictions for users who use other browsers and therefore eliminate them from the potential audience. Many browser incompatibilities go unnoticed by the designers and unreported by the users. This is why the only way to avoid compatibility problems is to test a website and make sure it will work on a particular platform.

Planning documentation

Our understanding of documentation is that it is used to visually plan the website while taking into account the purpose, audience, content, structure and user interactions. We consider planning documentation as a prototype for the planned website. It is a model which allows us to design the layout, information architecture and mock up, and to review it before process of building begins. This review process increases the likelihood of success of the website.