What type of website do you need…

Personal –site allows you to advertise your employment credentials, meet new friends, or share a common interest or hobby with fellow enthusiasts.

Organizational-site promotes member accomplishments or to encourage support and participation.

Topical-site supports a specific topic such as a hobby or sport; (e.g. black-and-white photography, including tips for amateurs, photo galleries, and online resources).

Commercial-site promotes and sells products or services.

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Step 1: Define the site’s GOALS and objectives

and then formulate a written purpose statement

for the site. Goals are the result s you want your

site to accomplish within a specific time frame,

which can be weeks, months , or years.

Objectives are those methods you will choose to

accomplish the site’s goals. A formal, written

purpose statement summarizes your site’s goals

and objectives.

Step 2: Develop a formal TARGET AUDIENCE

profile by doing research to determine both

demographic and psychographic

characteristics of potential site visitors.

Determine your audience’s wants, needs and

expectations by conducting a needs

assessment.

Step 3: The GENERAL CONTENT elements you

choose for your site must support the site’s

purpose and satisfy your target audience’s

needs and expectations.

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Step 4: The SITE STRUCTURE is the linked arrangement

of pages from the home page. The site structure

should support the site’s purpose and make it easy for

the visitors to find what they want at the site in as few

clicks as possible.

Step 5: The LOOK AND FEEL of the site is important

because you must promote unity and maintain visual

identity across pages of the site by creating visual

consistency—the consistent use of color, typeface, and

content positioning across all pages on the site.

Step 6: Specify the SITE’S NAVIGATION SYSTEM, which

consists of different types of links: text links; image

links; related group links presented as menus, bars or

tabs; and site maps.

E-Commerce

Blogs

5• Live Chat

Use multimedia elements sparingly for

distinct purposes, ensuring that it adds

value, supports your website’s message, and

satisfies target audience expectations for

content on your site.

Use web page animation to catch a visitor’s

attention, but be selective when choosing

these elements. Overused, cutesy elements

will make your website look amateurish.

Select only those animations that will

promote the site’s message and satisfy your

audience’s expectation for content.

Launch a full-scale campaign using both online and traditional

promotional techniques such as Facebook, Twitter, Constant Contact,

and direct mail. Also include online directory submissions such as

Yelp, Goggle Plus, Bing to name a few, and traditional word-of-mouth.

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It is important to maintain, update and retest (as necessary) your website

elements on a regular basis. As part of an ongoing maintenance plan, you

should do the following:

Add timely, relevant, and authoritative content;

Check for broken links and add new links;

Include a mechanism for gathering user feedback and respond to the

feedback;

Evaluate and implement new technologies to further your site’s

objectives and increase its accessibility and usability;

Retest site features periodically; and

Partner with Web Feet Communications

to design and maintain your website today!

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Crusaders Baptist Church, Washington, DC

Contact us at 202-604-6383 or visit us at

webfeetcommunications.com for a free

consultation!

Web Design: Introductory Concepts and Techniques, 3rd. Ed., Gary

B. Shelly, H. Albert Napier, and Ollie Rivers, Authors

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