Content
Your website will be first and foremost defined by the materials it presents. Here you will outline your website's goal(s), structure, and what pieces you want to include. Remember that, right now, cost is not a part of the picture — take the time to define what information and services your site will ideally provide, even if certain elements are ultimately left out or their implementation postponed.

1. Briefly define the purpose of your website. For example, do you plan to sell products or services through the site? What is your target audience? Will you need to keep the site updated on a regular basis?
   
   
2. Identify the details about your company that should be conveyed through your website. For example, what information do you wish to present about your company or organization? Do you have a corporate mission or vision statement? What policies do you have in place that affect how you do business? For example, if you sell products, you may have a return policy. If you sell a service, you may offer certain guarantees or disclaimers.
   
   
3. Outline your company's product line and/or the services it provides and how these will relate to your website. If you sell products, do you plan to sell them online (through your website)? If you sell services, do you have concise descriptions of the types of services you provide?
   
   
4. Visitors to your website will likely need to get in touch with you at some point or another. Typically, contact information is given a prominent position on every website to assure customers that your company is both legitimate and accessible. Define the methods of communication you want to provide your visitors in order for them to reach your company.

Interactivity & Technology
Once you have a fairly solid idea of the services and content you wish to provide, it becomes easier to identify the different types of interactivity you will require and the technology needed to accomplish it. In this section, you will be presented with several general means of making your site more interactive with your target audience. Disregard potential costs for the moment - identify the services your website will ideally provide, even if certain elements are ultimately left out or their implementation postponed.

1. What information do you want to collect? For example, you can ask visitors to fill out forms and provide you with their names, addresses, phone numbers, shoe sizes, etc. These fields are entirely up to you.
   
   
2. If you sell products or services, you may wish to allow visitors to purchase those services from your site. Alternately, you may want to have forms that react to user input and display different results for different visitors.
   
   
3. You may wish to manage your site, or you may desire the ability to allow many individuals in your organization to manage separate pieces of it. Try to define your site management needs and what your expectations are regarding the amount of direct control you will want to have over the site and its content once it is implemented.
   
   
4. There are a myriad of features your website can have to enhance its interactivity. Think about how you might have games, personalization, newsletter services, and other items to draw visitors back to your site.

Design
Website design is a critical component to the success of your website, but it is the last item we cover. Site design is tied inextricably with the content and services you provide. Without an understanding of the content of your website in advance, the design you end up with may not adequately meet the needs of the resulting website.

1. Designing for the Web is very different from traditional print design. Web design is dependent upon many outside variables over which a web designer has little or no control. For example, fonts are limited to those that are installed on each unique visitor's computer. In some cases, graphics may be used in lieu of fonts, but this is reserved primarily for site navigation and the like and should never replace the primary body text of the website.
   
   
2. Colors are very important to conveying your image over the web. Think about what colors you would like associated with your site. What websites currently in existence can you point to where you feel that color has been used effectively, and why?
   
   
3. Many companies have graphical logos on their letterhead, business cards, etc. If your company does not have a logo, identify visual elements which you feel would be representative of your company and its services.
   
   
4. Try to define a theme for your website. In many cases, this may be easily extracted from your company's core business objectives. However, you may wish to present your company via metaphor expressed graphically on your website. You may also wish to present certain sub-sections of your website in such a way. Jot down some thematic elements or ideas that you want to use on your website.
   
   
5. Identify at least 5 websites that you like. Don't worry about why you like them, at least not initially. Just pick some of your favorites and then think about what elements make them stand out over other websites with similar purposes or subject matter.

Using the above as a guide, defining the dimensions of your website should be a piece of cake. Webmaster, Inc. can help you in this process. Contact us today for more information!