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Web Site Planning

CITA 330 Fall 2010 Prof Mills

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Planning Issues

• What will the site do?• What will the site look like?• How will the user experience the site?• Navigation– Structures the site– What links are most important?

• Research client needs, similar sites, sites the client likes

• Requires communication with the client

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Planning Issues• Purpose

– Why build the site?– Use a short written statement to define

• What is the Image or Visual Message of the Site?– Driven by site purpose

• Content– Quantity the number of pages, images– Client must provide the content

• Audience– Define a user personality– simulate user’s goals and behaviors (Hunt)

• What is Success for this site?– How will you know your is successful?– Sketch scenarios (Hunt), use a short written statement

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Outline the Planning Issues

• Develop a set of notes addressing the planning issues

• Used by the team, an internal document• Plan before you build the site, obvious but

overlooked• Use a design brief (see Stocks) to put your

ideas in a format for the client to review

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The Design Brief *

• The design brief defines what the client expects of the design you will build

• The brief is an understanding between the client and the designer

• Use the brief to confirm your approach with the client before you build

• Have your client “sign-off” on the plan• * see Stocks, Chapter 2 Research

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Design Brief: Basic Questions

• Stocks outlines a set of basic questions on p. 26

• Include the related planning issues listed above you feel are important

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Questions

• 1 How will you communicate your design brief to your client? (see plan_student_website.docx)

• 2 What will you include in your design brief?• 3 How will you know your client and you are in

agreement about the design decisions you will make?

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Sources

• Elliot Stocks Sexy Web Design• Ben Hunt The Complete No Nonsense, Step-

by-Step Guide to Designing Web Siteshttp://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/design-process/web-design-process/