planning your new website upgrade
DESCRIPTION
Originally presented to the Marketing Director's Support Group (MDSG) on 2/22, this presentation provides tips on approaching your web development project including creating a website RFP / planning document and tools to help you with the process.TRANSCRIPT
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Tips for Planning Out Your New Website
MDSG February 22, 2011
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Define Your Goals
• What do you want to accomplish?– Share Info– Sell Stuff– Save Time
• Who are you trying to reach?– New Customers– Existing Customers– Employees
• Sample Goals:– Improve client
experience– Improve
communication– Generate new
business– Reduce drain on
internal resources
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Convert Goals to Features
• Improve Client Experience
• Secure Client Login• Allow Client to Access
Account Data• Allow Client to
Subscribe to Content Updates
• Provide for Emailing Clients from Site
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Features Define Requirements
• List All Features Needed to Meet Goals
• List Additional Requirements You Might Think Of:– Easy-to-Use for Non-Technical People– Search Functionality– Video Upload
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Define Your Budget
• Building a Website is Like Building a House• Do Your Requirements Define a Mansion?
– Can You Afford a Mansion?
• Revisit Requirements and Divide Into MUST HAVE and NICE TO HAVE
• 80/20 Rule: 80% of desired functionality will consume 20% of budget
• 20% is usually bells-and-whistles not core to achieving goals
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Define Timeline
• Actual Deadline Trying to Meet?– Rush = Probably Increased Cost
• Phased Development Approach?– Core Features Now– Nice-to-Have Later
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Determine Technology
• Most Modern Content Management Systems (CMS) Provide 90% of STANDARD Functionality– Save Time– Save Cost
• Custom = EXPENSIVE– Custom graphics / layout– Custom features / functionality
• Where Hosted?• Email?
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Sample Systems
• WordPress
• Drupal
• DotNetNuke
• Magento
• Joomla
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Establish a Baseline
• Google Analytics or Similar– Current Traffic Volume– Current Traffic Sources– Current Conversion Rates
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Use Baseline toSet Measurable Goals
• Increased Traffic Goal (Marketing)– Improve Sources of Traffic– SEO Objectives– SEM Objectives
• Increased Conversion Goal (Sales)– User-friendly Checkout– Increased Lead Generation
• Determine ROI
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Define Site Architecture
• Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS)– Avoid Complex Navigation– Avoid Too Much Info on Home Page– Easy Access to CRITICAL Info– Search for Everything Else
• Build Site Outline
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Compile RFP / Planning Document
• List out your goals.
• List out all required features.
• List out all desired features.
• List out proposed site map.
• List out baseline site metrics.
• Provide budget constraints.
• Provide development timeline goals.
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Manage Your Project
• Use a system– Basecamp – free plan for single project– Google Sites
• Track– Milestones– To-Do Lists– Issue Tracking– Scope / Specifications
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Wireframing
• Provides developers with direction
• Can save on cost of development
• Prevents “back-and-forth”
• Balsamiq ($80), Gliffy (free), Pencil (free Firefox plug-in)
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Vendor Selection
• How will project be managed?• How will issues be tracked?• How will hosting / email be handled?• How will scope changes be addressed?• Milestone payments?• Vendor history?• Proposed technology? How will “golden
handcuffs” be avoided?• Cost of maintenance?
