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Implementing Your Web Site
Site Wise: Laying the Foundation

By: Susan Tenby

April 29, 2000

Now that you have a Web development team and you are aware of what you want to tackle, you should think about the look and feel of your Web site. In this section, we will discuss the Web site development process. This process exists under the umbrella of Project Management. Here are some questions to help you get a flavor of what your site should express.

Elements to Consider:

Audience:

Who is your Web audience, how would they come to your site, what would they be looking for?
Why would they return to your site?
What level of technology is your audience likely to have access to (fast or slow computers, fast or slow modems, recent or outdated web browsers, high or low quality monitors, etc.)?
What will be the skill level of your audience: beginner, intermediate, expert?
How might this audience differ from other audiences you might want to target (i.e. with other media, such as print, radio, phone, etc.)?

Impact:

What overall impression, experience or look and feel do you hope to convey?
Is your website accessible to all your users?
Does it use language that is easily understood?
Is it an appropriate visual representation of your organization (a site about prisoners of war shouldn't be full of cute and flashy images.)?

Start to think about backgrounds (they should be light and muted) and font. Different fonts have distinct psychological effects on users, but TechSoup recommends that you stay within the two or three standard fonts for text writing: Times, Arial, and Courier.

(Silly fonts may be fun, but they can be distracting and on some computers may be hard to read.)

Identity

Are there certain logos, colors or photos that you want to include? If there are certain visual cues that remind the user of your organization, try to implement them in your site.

Content:

What content should be available on your Web site?
How much of this content can be gathered in digital format?
Which content lends itself to on-screen viewing and which needs to be available in downloadable or printable format?

Structure:

After thinking about your audience and content categories and how this website will reflect your organization's character, what structures emerge?

Will it be important to construct the website so that content is presented to different audiences in different ways?
What are the most important elements to keep close to the top of the site?
What are the navigational concerns (Simplicity? Consistency? Being able to get anywhere from anywhere? Presenting a broad range of options?)
How might the structure of your website reflect the structure of the organization?

TechSoup recommends that for your first website, start with a simple site and get your own domain name.

A Domain By Any Other Name is Not the Same

Having your own domain name is a necessity, not a luxury. Your domain name is an extension of your organization. Your domain name is unique. Think of it as your signature. Your domain name should go on your business cards, letterhead, e-mail signature, and promotional materials.

Note: If possible, be cautious in using free Web hosts for your domain name. In exchange for their free services, many free Web hosts will include their own name in the string of your URL. This can make it difficult for the user to locate your organization, and it also makes your site seem less professional. Fortunately, there are currently several Web hosting companies that will host nonprofit sites for free and give them their own domain names. See the Web hosting services resource list for more information.

For example: www.savethekitties.com is more intuitive to the user than www.freehost/~savethekitties/home.html. It is also easier to remember and to transcribe. TechSoup recommends owning your own domain name -- it is the affordable and logical choice.

Another benefit to having your own domain name is that it is portable. If you change your ISP, your domain name and your e-mail address goes with you. Domain names are still relatively inexpensive ($35.00/year with a two year up-front payment). They are administered on a first come, first served basis by a name registering service such as: Network Solutions, Register.Com or Name Secure . Your Web hosting service will register your domain name for you, but this may add a small fee to your Web-hosting package. It is a good idea to secure your domain name as soon as you decide to develop a Web site. This will prevent your clever and identifiable domain name from being taken.

Domain names are going so fast, that a new extension to URLs has been introduced. The new ".tv" is so new that there are an abundance of names available. This extension was originally assigned to the small South Pacific country, Tuvalu in 1991. Some whiz kids in Silicon Valley recognized the appeal to Web sites working in streaming media (as TV has come to imply television), the country of Tuvalu is now financially much more secure, and we can get an extension of .tv for our Web sites. The world is a much happier place. See our Internet Connections section for more information on Web hosting.

Now you have thought about all the conceptual stuff that is behind a well-organized Web site. The next question that you need to ask yourself is whether or not to do it yourself. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options, and TechSoup's recommendation is no less ambivalent.

If you have the budget and your site is somewhat complex, go with a web developer. If your site is of the online-brochure genre, and doing it yourself is the only way in which your organization will have a Web site, then use TechSoup's New Web Site Development Worksheet and try it yourself.

If You Decide to Get an Outside Web Developer:

The benefit of outside Web developers is that they know more than you do about creating a successful Web site. They know what you need and don't have and what is out there. When there is a problem, you can call the consultant. Keep in mind that a Web developer will not automatically maintain and update your content for you. There will be additional charges for this type of service. It is a good idea to hire a Web developer that will help empower your organization to continue the work. A good Web site is always a work in progress.

There are many web developers that will design an organization's Web site free of charge, in order to have it in their portfolio. You can post a request for a pro bono Web developer in a listserv, such as San Francisco Women on the Web. There are options at your local University or Community College Computer Sciences department as well. See the TechSoup resource list of NPO discounted Web Services for other options.

When you hire a Web developer you should consider that the more focused and organized you and your organization is before you hire the consultant, the less expensive and more appropriate your site will be.

When you hire a Web developer, here are things that should be set in stone, or at least in modeling clay:

What you want your site to say
Who your audience will be
What is the look and feel of your site (for this you should have an idea of other sites that you want to emulate)
How much time and money is your organization prepared to spend on the site
What kind of functionality do you want from your site (what you want your site to do -- does it have online forms to submit? Is information going to be submitted and stored on the host's server? Is the site database- driven?)
Do you have flexibility in your needs and/or budget?

If You Decide to Do It Yourself, Remember:

Plan your Web site thoroughly.
Make sure your information is easy to access.
Provide an index or table of contents.
Include a navigational bar on all pages.
Keep your home page clean and crisp.
Limit number of graphics on a page.
Always remember the text users.
Provide your contact information in several places on your site.
Always use width and height tags for images.
Keep the load time of your pages under one minute.

Now, take a deep breath and jump in.

Words to the Wise:

Make sure to include a section in your site for feedback. Feedback can be implemented in a number of different ways. The simplest is an HTML "mailto" link. This uses the browser's built-in e-mail feature. The disadvantage is that not everyone will have their browser e-mail configured, so it might not work as a link. To avoid any problems, it is always safe to make sure your email address is clearly visible on the page. Email forms can also be implemented using CGI (Common Gateway Interface), and require more advanced technical skills.
It is important to start as simply as possible. A site that is too graphically complex will take a long time to load and you will lose viewers who have older browser versions. You do not want a site that relies on DHTML (Dynamic HTML) or complicated scripting.

Tutorials on Web Site Marketing

Techsoup's resource page for TechSoup's resource page on Web Development Resources has information on making and marketing your site.
Helping.org has a very complete resource for publicizing your Web site.

Web Development Resources

One Northwest's article on web editors page documents some of the more popular web authoring tools that do not require knowledge of HTML.
The Unesco - Resource List for Web Designers page provides several HTML and Web writing links.
This page's name says it all, if you aren't too insecure to identify with the title, check out the HTML Tutorials For The Complete Idiot.
The idealist.org - The Nonprofit FAQ on Management & Internet Use page answers many questions for Beginner Web Developers.
This web style guide from Wired teaches you to write like a hip and cool Wired Magazine writer, it is replete with all the latest buzzwords. This is also appropriate for a more serious tone in your writing.
Joe Burns' site, HTML Goodies is considered the primary beginning Web developer's resource.