Planning a project involves these actions:
A. Pray about it. Ask the Lord if He is in it, and if He wants you for the job. Remember, unless the Lord builds it, its builder labors in vain. If He gives you the initial go-ahead then continue on {Else Stop}.
B. Meet with all those who will have input into the project. Do not hold the meeting until all those who?s input counts are present.
C. Define the goals of the site in the meeting. Ask questions like:
Why have a web siteWhat is the vision for the project/site?
What's it supposed to do?
Who is it supposed to reach?
-- Who's the target audience?
What do you want your target audience(s) to do on your site?
What do you want to tell them?
What look and feel should the site have?
What technology considerations are there?
Is search engine optimization an issue? If so, what key words should be considered?
D. After the meeting there is nothing wrong with repeating step A, now that you have had a chance to hear more about the project and your clients' goals.
E. Document everything discussed in the meeting in the Pre-planning Document.
F. Distribute the document to all who were at the meeting.
G. Get final feedback from all.
H. List all the site sections the project will have.
I. List all the functions the site will have.
J. Determine what pages and content need to be in each section.
K. Define each page and the functions it will have.
Here is a general example. The level of detail can vary by the depth of the project's complexity.
Page planning name: Navigate/Search Page (This is the start page)
Page name: Default.asp
Page title: Welcome
Page audience: General site visitors
Page content:
Intro to the site.
Copy to entice them further into the site by conducting a search.
Brief search instructions.
Search form.
Search text field
Date range drop downs
Sort order drop down
Main navigation bar
Page functions:
Set cookie to welcome them back on next visit
Reads cookie if they are a return visitor and welcomes them back
Submits search form fields to search_results.asp
L. Distribute the Web site planning document to all who were at the web site planning meeting.
M. Get agreement and final approval from all those involved.
N. Design a site template. Create the visual look. Design the buttons, background, color, text, headlines, css styles, ect.
O. Get approval from all. Then start the project.
No matter how talented we are as web designers and developers, planning is an important part of any project web project we begin. Planning is an important part of anything we do. Remember, the plans you make now will save you much time and grief later.
Blessings,
Sean Buscay
See:
Psalm 127:1 (house=web site)
Psalm 33:11
Psalm 20:4
Proverbs 16:3
Proverbs 15:22
Proverbs 19:21
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Sean Buscay
www.christian-web-masters.comSean Buscay is on a mission to CREATE, ADVANCE, and EXPOUND faith in JESUS using web technology. He is the owner of Christian-Web-Masters.com .