By: Richard Lowe, Jr. and Claudia Arevalo-Lowe
Okay, you're at the point where you know basically
what your web site is about. You also understand your
audience. Now it's time to figure out what you are
trying to tell your audience. What message or messages
are you attempting to deliver?
What I usually do at this stage of the game is get
a blank pad of paper and a good pen, go to the park
(assuming it's a nice day) or someplace quiet and
think. Another good place is the local library, although
the office conference room will do in a pinch.
The idea is to stay away from a computer. You don't
want to have any temptations near you at all. No terminals,
no keyboards, no internet access, no email. Nothing.
Why not? Because this stage of the game has nothing
to do with the internet or computers. I've also found
it's much easier to think without distractions like
a ringing phone or a demanding email program.
So think about what you are trying to communicate.
This is probably one of the most important parts of
the design process. Do it right at the beginning and
your web site will just come together by itself. Mess
it up now, and you may find yourself making endless
changes and fighting it for a long period of time.
I've found it's best to start from general terms
(this is referred to top-down design) and work my
way to the specifics. For example, let's say I have
decided to make a web site about domestic cats and
my audience is cat owners. All right, what am I trying
to tell these cat owners?
I might begin by saying, well, I want to teach them
some of the tricks that I have learned to make cat
ownership more fun and fulfilling. I might also want
to sell them some products (that is a form of communication)
as well. In addition, I may want to stress ethical
treatment of animals.
Now I can start putting this together in an outline
or list or whatever you like. This is a thinking process,
so just write down whatever you feel is important
in as organized a manner as is appropriate. What you
are doing is trying to get your thoughts organized
and written down - this is nothing formal and it definitely
does not need to be seen by anyone else. Formal design
comes later, this is more of a high level analysis.
I might wind up with a list of things to teach my
visitors about cats. The idea here is to give people
some information which makes the site valuable for
them. This is important regardless of whether or not
the site is commercial - you must give people something
of value or they will not remain at your site, they
will not come back and they will not recommend to
anyone else.
You may also start to consider briefly how you are
going to communicate your messages. Think a little
bit about graphics, sounds and other multimedia at
this point. Staying with the cat example, I might
want to include a chart of cat breeds with a picture
of each breed, along with a description and favorite
food. I may also want to include video or sounds to
communicate better. Remember, you are not creating
the web site or it's contents at this time - you are
defining the boundaries.
Define the limits to what you want to discuss on
your site. Current information? Daily or weekly tips
(perhaps an ezine)? Historical data? Photo albums?
How detailed do you want to get? How general? If you
are selling something, how are you going to tie your
content to your site?
Remember to always tie back your decisions to your
goals and to your audience. Are these things that
your audience would want to know? Does all of this
information fit in with the site goals and objectives?
In other words, if you are creating a web site about
cats, you probably do not want to include articles
and pictures from your skiing trip - unless, of course,
you have a cat that skis.
I've found it's usually good to do this several times
over several days. Write down your thoughts and organize
them as necessary. Then go home and come back the
next day. Repeat the process. Do this as often as
necessary until it just feels like it's done.
Don't spend an outrageous amount of time on any of
this. The whole process for a good sized web site
should only take a few afternoons. Remember, you are
defining in general what you are communicating. The
specifics come later.
When you are finished, you will find that the remainder
of the web site analysis and design process will go
much smoother. And it should - you know what you are
trying to communicate. That sure makes it easier to
do so.
About The Author: Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster
of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes
over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet
profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address:
http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm
Daily Tips: internet-tips@GetResponse.com
Claudia Arevalo-Lowe is the webmistress of Internet
Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site
at http://survivingasthma.com
