|
|
While a strategic plan answers the “why” of web development,
the “what” of web dev is web content — the information the web delivers:
MODELING INFORMATION DELIVERY
There’s a sweet spot – between what you want
to tell visitors and what visitors want to find out – that
suggests an information delivery model. Here are a few of the key
questions to consider when developing a model:
 |
Is there a natural division between static
information (available to all visitors) and dynamic information
(that should be visitor-selectable)? |
| |
Are there key messages to be structured as “must-sees” for
all visitors? |
| |
Does the complexity of dynamic information
delivery require an underlying database? |
| |
Do visitors require shortcuts to most-requested
information? |
top
ORGANIZATION & INTERACTIVE
ELEMENTS
Organization and interactive elements are the “how” of
information delivery. How to organize a web site and what interactive
elements are appropriate should flow naturally out of the information
delivery model:
| |
What categories of information arise out of
the information delivery model? |
| |
In reviewing an outline of these information
categories, does this outline suggest the structure of the
user interface? |
| |
What interactive elements support information
delivery? |
| |
In the competitive context, what interactive
elements add value over competitors’ sites? |
| |
How adaptable are the organizational structure
and interactive elements to future needs? |
top
COPY & GRAPHICS
| |
For the sake of consistency and economy, are
there existing editorial or graphical elements that can be
re-purposed for the web site? |
| |
Rather than re-purposing, does a different
approach make better sense for a web audience and format? |
| |
Which content elements should change regularly
to provide users a reason for revisiting the site? |
| |
Are there events in the business cycle that
will necessitate site changes (i.e. special promotions, new
product launches, regular news or technical information updates)? |
STORYBOARD TO CODE
The bigger the site, the more important it is to rely on big pictures of The
Big Picture before beginning the coding process. Organizational and flow charts
and story boards do a great job of mapping out the entire site and are essential
for keeping a project on track and on budget. Call us old fashioned, but there
are still some things better accomplished on paper – such as reworking
global issues, design concepts and information flow. It’s simply more
efficient and economical to solidify global issues and content concepts up
front, rather than reworking lots of coded pages to reflect global changes.
top
Next: Conduct Reality Check
|
