Step-By-Step Site Planner

This is how you build a house. First, buy lots of wood, nails, windows, doors and paint. How much, you ask? I don't know - a lot. Next, hire a crew of carpenters and tell them to go for it. Then, ask the guy who drives the concrete mixer to pour his load wherever he thinks the driveway should go.

Blueprints? A plan? No time for all that. You know what a house looks like, and, besides, you don't want to stifle creativity with a bunch of formalities.

Think again, Sparky. Whether you're building the family domicile or your organization's Website, you need to start with a plan. An effective plan starts with quality information, and to get quality information you need to ask the right questions.

Here's a Site Planner, a collection of focused questions to help you jump-start the information gathering process. Each section (Background, Audience, Resources, Competition and Content) asks several basic questions along with "Next Steps" for detailed follow-up.

For best results involve as many stakeholders as possible -- business/process owners, marketing and sales staff, IT folks, content managers, developers and customers.

Ready? Sharpen your pencils and roll up your sleeves. And good luck enhancing your Web presence!

Background

• Goals. What are your specific goals? Consider:
  • company/brand awareness,
  • product/services awareness,
  • product/services sales,
  • community building,
  • entertainment,
  • knowledge sharing, and
  • internal communications.

• Promotional Fit. How should your Website fit with current promotional and marketing strategies and materials?

• Deadlines. What are the schedule or deadline requirements?

• Funding. What are the budgetary constraints?

• Measurement. How will you measure the success of the site?

Next Steps:

1. Develop a ranked (from most- to least-important) Goals Master List.
   
2. Create a mission statement for the site.
   
3. Identify how the mission and goals of the site might change from short-term to long-term, given the direction of your organization and industry.

Audience

• External. Who is your EXTERNAL audience? Consider:
  • current customers,
  • potential customers,
  • suppliers,
  • professional/trade organizations,
  • investors,
  • competitors,
  • children,
  • schools/educators, and
  • the sight-impaired.

• Internal. Who is your INTERNAL audience? Consider:
  
  • all employees,
  • management,
  • marketing/sales,
  • operations, and
  • IT.

• Sub-groups. Determine all subgroups within the audiences identified above.

• Define. Identify the interests, technical skills and special issues for each audience group and subgroup.

Next Steps:

1. Create a ranked Audience Master List.
   
2. Develop an Aligned Master List by matching the Audience Master List to the Goals Master List.
   
3. Create usage scenarios based on Aligned Master List.