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GETTING STARTED

Background:

1. What is the nature of your business?

2. Who is your target audience?

Message:

1. What goals does your company intend to reach with a new web site?

     a. Informative online brochure.

     b. Business processing tool - accept monies - gather information.

     c. Online store - e-commerce.

Perception:

1. Use adjectives to describe how you want your site to be perceived by the user. (Ex: conservative, progressive, friendly, formal, service-oriented, professional etc.)

 

2. How is your company currently perceived? Do you wish to carry through the same kind of message through your web site? (Ex: same type of wording as on your print work, color theme, logo, etc.

 

3. What web sites do you find compelling? What do you find the most interesting about these sites, look, layout, services, forms ease of use.

 

4. Are there other web sites you've seen that have functionality that you would like to have on your web site?

Style:

1. Do you have company colors or a color scheme you want us to use or that you prefer?

2. Describe any visual elements or styles that can be utilized from existing marketing materials or collateral.

3. If we are providing graphics, what style would you like them to be in: photography, illustration, cartoon,  etc:

4. Do you already have a site layout or look in mind ?

Content:

1. Will this site use existing content: If not, will you be creating content in-house or using an outside provider or copywriter?

2. What is the basic structure of the content, and how is it organized?

3. Will you need to request any sensitive information on your site? (ss numbers credit, etc)

     If so, you will need to acquire a security certificate.

Commerce Sites:

1. How many products or services do you plan to sell on your web site?

     Will these change often?

2. Do your products have any variations? If so, do they apply to all the products?

      List the variations, or packages.

3. What are your payment methods? List them:

4. Are there any special pricing rules we need to know about?

5. Will you be accepting credit cards? List them:

6. Do you need online credit card authorization (cybercash or ATS)?

7. Do you want to accept checks or money orders?

Marketing / Updating:

1. What are your short-term marketing goals? (in the next two years)

2. How will this web site help to meet your goals:

3. Do you have an existing or planned marketing strategy in mind to promote this site?

     If so please describe:

4. What do you feel is your number one business problem? (Ex: change image, increase customers,  promote company, etc.) List them:

5. Do you have a hosting service in mind? Are you going to need secure service? Do you own your own domain name? (Ex: mybusiness.com)

6. What methods of distributing the URL already exist within the company? (Ex: business cards, flyers, brochures, sales reps.)

7. Do you intend on keeping the site updated: If so, how often? Who is responsible for updating and providing content?

8. What are your budget limitations? Can this project be broken in a phased manner to help you meet your goals?

 

Technical Issues:

1. Who is going to maintain your site ? Inhouse / Outsource

2 .Some of the latest technologyies are not fully backward compatiable or require plugins, would this be an issue ?

3. Who is going to make the decisions as to the look/content/technical choices ?

4. Where are you going to house or host your website?