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"The Media Wiz For Your Biz"

The Ten Essentials  

Plan Ahead  - 
As with any type of project, the more that is accomplished during the planning and organization stage, the less redundant work and wasted effort there will be in later stages of development. You can facilitate this by organizing your content in advance, allowing time to think through potential problem areas and trouble spots. You also give yourself the breathing room necessary to fine-tune your material so that it offers optimum value to your site visitors.

Define Your Goals - 
Web sites can serve a variety of functions. Some exist simply to provide basic information about an organization. Others have a defined sales path through which they wish to guide their audience. Others still provide in-depth educational tools concerning a variety of subjects. Most sites offer a combination of these elements. Make sure you've clearly defined what you intend your site to accomplish, and develop a hierarchy of goals you wish to achieve through its use.

Create a Schedule… And Stick To It  - 
Implementing a Web site can be a lengthy process - one involving a substantial amount of work for both the development team and the client. The initial excitement of creating a Web presence for your organization often wears thin in the face of the "nuts and bolts" work involved on the client end - information gathering, content creation, site marketing, etc. In order to ensure that things stay on track, a schedule is vital, as long as it's realistic. Most of the client's work occurs during the early stages of the design process, so make an honest assessment of the time it will take to perform the required tasks, and then apply the tasks to a document shared among key members of your team. Be sure you include a drop-dead date by which the site must go live.

Define Your Chain of Command
Gathering and creation of content for your Web site will usually involve multiple people, sometimes across several departments or organizations. Make sure to define your key contact people and try to funnel your communication through one or two points of contact. This will help to avoid potential costly and time-consuming miscommunications, as well as keep delays and frustration at a minimum.

Know Your Audience
Audience demographics vary widely from one Web site to another, both in terms of their personal statistics and the browser and operating system they are using. A Web site selling data management software to corporate clientele who utilize state-of-the-art computing equipment should look and function quite differently than a Web site offering health services to the general public. Factors such as language, disabilities, connection speed, and technology level may each be affected by user demographics. We will work with you to develop a thorough understanding of your target audience, enabling you to use this knowledge to develop a site that speaks to your audience's needs.

Create a Clear and Effective Site Architecture and Navigation Structure
The presentation of information on the Web is often quite different than its presentation in printed literature. The nature of "hyperlinked" documents allows viewers a great deal of flexibility in accessing information, but that very flexibility, when not properly managed, can lead to confusion. It becomes important to place information in well thought-out categories and utilize a navigation structure that clearly indicates how each piece of information fits into the grand scheme. A carefully designed site map can go a long way toward addressing these needs.

Remember, "Content is King!" 
Content defines everything that you are offering visitors on your Web site. Content will primarily exist in the form of text and pictures, but may also include more dynamic elements such as streaming audio and video, online games, interactive presentations and community chatrooms. An attractive design may be what grabs your visitor's initial interest, but clear, user-friendly information that addresses their needs will be what ensures that those same visitors return. As such, it makes a lot of sense to refine your content until it offers the most value to your site viewers. Put yourself in the shoes of potential audience members and design content that reflects their interest in a style and tone they will enjoy.

Define Your Look
The aesthetics of your Web site should accurately reflect the look and feel of your organization. It is important to thoroughly consider elements such as color scheme and typography to ensure your Web site is part of a cohesive whole that includes your advertisements, marketing and promotional material. A good exercise is to create a list of adjectives you would like people to use when describing your organization. Refine the list, then hand it off to your site designer.

Develop Your Promotional Strategies at the Outset
Too often, a Web site is built and only afterwards is attention turned toward promoting it. To be truly effective, your promotional strategies should be discussed before and during the construction of the site. The application of different strategies in areas such as marketing and search engine registration can actually effect the design of your site, so it is essential to plan early.

Plan Regular Site Maintenance
A Web site's viewership will dwindle if it fails to offer its audience continually fresh and vital content, and its search engine listings will disappear if they are not updated on a regular basis. Make the effort to schedule time toward addressing these needs and your Web audience will reward you with increased attention toward your site.