Steps in web design

1
Steps in web design

• First step
• Answer why you want to design a website.
• If you are designing the page for someone else,
  ask them why?

2
Typical answers

• I dont know perhaps because everyone has it.

3
Common misconceptions

• Banner in cyberspace if we build it, they will
  come.
• Camping out in Antartica perhaps we will figure
  it out later.

4
Web is primarily a communication tool

• Most people come to the web primarily for
  information. Web browsing is often a purposeful
  activity.

5
So you want to communicate something you know

• Next step
• With whom do you want to communicate?
• That is, your target audience.
• Proven strategies narrowcasting

6
You want repeat visitors

• Your Mom will visit your site because she loves
  you. But will she visit the site again?
• Who will be interested in what I have to say?
• Who will bookmark my site?

7
Define your objectives and target audience

• Write a paragraph about the purpose of the
  website you are planning and who your target
  audience is.
• Think about what you want your users to get from
  your site.

8
Why would your target audience come to your site?

• Timely, relevant information that is easy to
  access, perhaps.
• You will never know until you ask them.
• Audience research
• Ask at least one person from each category of
  your target audience.

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Two functions of a website

• To reach your primary audience
• To build a network, core customer base ,etc.
• To expand your primary audience
• To draw those outside your primary group to your
  website

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Two types of target audiences

• Primary target audience
• Those who will be clearly interested in what you
  have to say.

11
Secondary audience

• Those who may be interested in some things you
  have on your site.
• Your task is to keep on expanding your primary
  audience base.

12
Competitive analysis

• So far everything is going great but what happens
  if there is already a website that is just like
  yours, meeting the same needs of your target
  audience?
• How would you know?
• Go to the search engines and look for them.
• Study them and see if there is something unique
  about your site that will draw your audience to
  your site.

13
Developing scenarios

• Helps you to visualize the different audience
  groups.
• Makes it easy for you to identify the logical
  sections of your website.
• Pick a typical member from your target audience
  groups.
• Write a story about how he/she visits your site
  and meets his/her need.

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Example

• Illustration of scenarios
• Web designer has identified the objectives and
  target audience groups for a local church in
  Kalamazoo.
• St. Catherine of Siena Church, Center Street,
  Portage.

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Target audience groups

• Parishioners of St. Catherine
• Community members interested in other services
  provided by the church
• People who plan to move to Kalamazoo and are
  looking for churches.
• U.S. Catholics

16
Scenario one (existing parishioners)

• Sarah is a parishioner who wants to attend Sunday
  services at St. Catherines. But she cant
  remember if there is an evening mass on Sunday.
  So she checks the website to find the mass
  schedule.

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Scenario two (existing parishioners)

• Joe wants to make an appointment with the pastor
  of St. Catherines. He can either call the office
  and make an appointment or send Fr. Bob a direct
  email explaining briefly the reasons for an
  appointment. Joe prefers the direct email.

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Scenario three (existing parishioners)

• Lucy is at home with a broken leg this weekend.
  She is not able to attend the services but would
  like to listen to Fr. Bobs homily. She can read
  it from the website while resting her legs.

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Scenario four(parishioners of other churches)

• Jim, a devout catholic, got a job in Pfizer and
  plans to move to Kalamazoo from Detroit. He uses
  the search engine to learn more about the
  catholic churches in Kalamazoo and comes across
  St. Catherines website. He gets enough
  information about the location, activities, and
  personnel from the website.

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Scenario five (secondary audience interested in
other activities of the church)

• Maria is a community member who heard about a
  seminar for divorced couples at St. Catherines
  from a friend. She checks the website to get more
  information about the seminar and enroll.

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Scenario six (secondary audience interested in
news)

• Laura lives in Jackson. She visits St.
  Catherines website because it has a weekly
  section on Catholic news with special focus on
  Michigan Catholic events. There are no other
  websites that is dedicated exclusively to
  Michigan news. So Laura has become a regular
  visitor to the website for Michigan catholic news.

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Logical sections of the website
23
Define the architecture of the site

• Draft a site map that has logical hierarchy.
• Just like building a house, create a blue print
  that shows where each room is before laying the
  foundation.
• (This is what I call the flow-chart)