green hectares rural tech workshop – website planning

Website Planning

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www.zephyrtraining.cainfo@zephyrtraining.ca

THESE MATERIALS ARE COPYRIGHTED WITH ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. THIS DOCUMENT MAY NOT IN WHOLE OR IN PART BE COPIED, PHOTOCOPIED, REPRODUCED, OR REDUCED TO ANY ELECTRONIC MEDIUM OR MACHINE-READABLE FORM WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT, IN WRITING, FROM ZEPHYR SOFTWARE TRAINING LTD. AND GREEN HECTARES CORP.ANY SOFTWARE, COMPUTER, AND PRODUCT NAMES MENTIONED ARE MANUFACTURER AND PUBLISHER TRADEMARKS AND ARE USED ONLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF IDENTIFICATION.

Blogger is a trademark or registered trademark of Google Inc.

WordPress is a registered trademark of Automattic, Inc.

eBay is a registered trademark of eBay, Inc.

PayPal is a registered trademark of PayPal, In

Why is Planning Important?

• It makes your site easy to find.

• It makes your site easy to navigate.

• It makes updating your site easier.

Website Structure

Think of your website as a building.

Goals

The planning and design of your site is greatly affected by your site’s goals.

Goals – Identify yours!• Are you interested in selling online?• Do you want to show-case multimedia like music or video?• Will you require a blog for frequent updates?• Is this site a way to stay in touch with friends and family?• Is this a site to educate users on a specific topic?

Target AudienceYour target audience is the group of people that you are trying to reach with your website, the users to whom your site will most appeal.

Target Audience• Who is your target audience?• How do they use the Internet?• What information will they be looking for?• How can your website cater to their needs?

ContentContent is all the information found on your site.

Think of it as the meat and potatoes of your site.

ContentKeep in mind that your site’s content is the most important aspect of your site.

Research

Use existing sites to brainstorm how your site will be built.

Site Architecture

Your site’s “architecture” is the skeleton of your website, the foundation under all your content.

Site Architecture Tips• Give web pages clear names.• Always keep users in mind. Imagine them navigating your website.• Plan your site’s architecture around your content. Don’t write content to fit the site’s architecture.

Site Types

• Showcase • Blog• E-commerce

Showcase Websites• Excellent for musicians/ photographers/ artists to display their work•Typically incorporates a graphical or artistic layout

Blog“Blog” is a contraction of the term web log.• Fastest way to establish an online presence• Excellent for updating information quickly• Typically used for personal use/journal entries

Blogging Sites

http://www.blogger.comhttp://www.typepad.comhttp://www.wordpress.com

E-Commerce

Commercial activity conducted via the Internet

E-Commerce•Enables you to sell products/services online•You can either incorporate a store into your website or use eBay/Paypal.•Straight-forward, more formal approach

Categorizing Your Content

1. Categorize your content into broad groups:

• About• News• Shop• Services• Pictures

• Blog• Support• Contact• Video

Categorizing Content cont’d.

2. If you have content that isn’t properly categorized in the previous groupings, feel free to create a grouping of your own.

3. Organize your groupings from most important to least important. This is how your information will appear on your site!

Site Mapping

A site map is a visual guide for the structure and organization of a website.