Creating a Web Site Back to Table of Contents. Creating a Web Site Conceiving a Web Site Planning a Web Site 2 Creating a Web Site Section 9-1 Section

Creating a Web SiteCreating a Web Site

Back to Table of Contents


Conceiving a Web SiteConceiving a Web Site

Planning a Web SitePlanning a Web Site

2


SectionSection 9-1

SectionSection 9-2

Chapter 9

Creating a Web Site Creating a Web Site

Section 9-1Why It’s Important

Setting objectives, generating ideas, and knowing your customers are all essential to creating a successful Web site.

3Section 9-1


Section 9-1 Key Terms

goals

objectives

brainstorming

feasibility assessment

target market

demographics

4Section 9-1


Goals and Objectives

Before you begin setting up your online business, you need to consider your goals and objectives.

goals general targets a person wants or expects to reach sometime in the future

5Section 9-1

objectives specific targets to be reached by a certain time, the progress toward which can be measured

W

W

W

W

W

Goals and Objectives

6

The Five Ws

Section 9-1

Who is your target audience?

What do you hope to accomplish?

When do you want it to be up and running?

Where do you want your site to appear?

Why do you want to build a Web site?


Establishing Goals

An Internet business can express its goals through a mission statement that it posts on its Web site.

A mission statement is a short, general description that explains the purpose of a Web site and what its creators hope to accomplish with it.

7Section 9-1


Setting Objectives

Setting and sticking to specific objectives will help you accomplish your goals over the long term.

Write down your site’s objectives in quantifiable terms, including how much time, information, and money they will require.

8Section 9-1


Brainstorming

When you’re planning and developing your site, it’s a good idea to have a brainstorming session.

brainstorming activity that involves a group of people generating and sharing ideas

9Section 9-1


Feasibility Assessment

A feasibility assessment is used to determine which ideas should be taken to the next step of the planning process.

feasibility assessment takes ideas from the brainstorming process and examines how practical they would be to implement

10Section 9-1


Conceptualizing

When conceptualizing your Web site, you should start sketching samples of the Web site’s design.

11Section 9-1


Knowing Your Audience

Knowing your customers is a crucial part of planning a Web site.

To plan and design your Web site, you will need to identify your target market.

target market the specific group of customers a business wants to attract

12Section 9-1


Knowing Your Audience

To determine your target market, you’ll need to do some basic research on demographics.

demographics information about the characteristics of customers a business serves, such as their age, average income, level of education, and where they live

13Section 9-1


Section 9-1 Review

What is a feasibility assessment? Why might some ideas be unfeasible?

What is a target market? Why is it important to know who your target market is when you’re creating a Web site?

What are demographics? How can they benefit an online business?

1.

2.

3.

14Section 9-1


Section 9-2Why It’s Important

A well-designed and well-organized Web site that is easy to navigate is more likely to attract customers who will visit, browse, buy, and return.

Section 9-2 15


Section 9-2 Key Terms

navigate

home page

layout

site map

storyboards

navigation scheme

16Section 9-2


Organizing the Site

Once you’ve established your goals and objectives, you’re ready to plan your Web site.

You’ll want to make it easy for visitors navigate your site.

navigate find a way around a site, including getting from page to page and getting to and back from other sites

17Section 9-2


The Home Page

If you have an online business, a home page is like your storefront—it’s the first thing your customers see.

home page a site’s main page; usually the first page that appears when you log on to a site

18Section 9-2


The Home Page

Your home page should:

19Section 9-2

attract visitors’ attention

communicate what your site

offers

reflect the business’s personality


The Home Page

Your home page should also have a simple and logical layout.

layout refers to the arrangement of the elements on the page, such as text, graphics, and headlines

20Section 9-2

If your home page is cluttered or disorganized, potential customers might become impatient and leave.


Site Maps and Storyboards

Each category on the home page should have its own Web page that links back to the home page.

Each category might be broken down into smaller subcategories that require separate Web pages.

21Section 9-2



To organize your site logically, you should draw a site map.

site map a diagram of a Web site’s overall structure

22Section 9-2

A site map is like an outline or table of contents.



To organize and lay out each page, you should use storyboards.

storyboards pencil sketches or computer-generated images that show what individual Web pages will look like, illustrating everything that will appear on the Web site, including text, graphics, color schemes, links, and menus

23Section 9-2

The storyboards will act as blueprints for programmers and graphic designers to use in building the site.


Navigation Schemes

A navigation scheme can be very complex, like a web, but should be designed so visitors can easily navigate and interact with your site.

navigation scheme shows how different Web pages relate to one another and link to other sites

24Section 9-2


Reaching Your Audience

You must make sure it’s easy for customers to locate, access, and contact your site.

25Section 9-2



Customers visiting your site for the first time will probably find it by using a browser.

For this reason, it’s wise to support—or make your site readable by—all of the major Internet browsers.

26Section 9-2



If your customers need special free software to browse your Web site, you can provide a link to the software so they can download it.

27Section 9-2



Once your customers have found you, you need to set up a means for them to contact you to establish good customer relations.

For this reason, include a Contact Us link, a Guest List, and phone and fax numbers.

28Section 9-2


Editing Your Site

As you develop your site, you might want to change its style or design.

To store all your information and keep track of changes, create a folder on your local hard drive that contains all of your Web files.

29Section 9-2


Editing Your Site

Once your pages are designed and coded, you can test your Web site.

Test your Web files on various computer platforms, such as Windows, Macintosh, and Linux, before copying them onto the Web server.

30Section 9-2


Section 9-2 Review

How is a home page like the front of a store?

What is the difference between a site map and a navigation scheme?

What can you do for customers who need special software to use your site?

How can you keep track of your Web files so you can change them? What should you do before you copy them onto a Web server?

1.

2.

3.

31Section 9-2

4.


32


End ofEnd of

Back to Table of Contents

Documents

Creating a Web Site Back to Table of Contents. Creating a Web Site Conceiving a Web Site Planning a Web Site 2 Creating a Web Site Section 9-1 Section