Getting Your New Web Site Project Started

Planning your new web site can be a daunting task. Allow us to help you get started easily by following this guide:

Step One: Outline Your Pages

Supply a formal outline of the pages of your web site with notes. Indicate actual pages by putting a bullet in front of it’s title, and tab over to indicate sub-pages. Be organized to simplify the process.

Example of a clear outline, using Hester Designs as the client;

  • Home
  • Contact Us
    —— Google Map
    —— eMail link
  • About Us
  • Request an Estimate
    —— Form
  • Services
    • Web Design
      • Small Site Design
      • Large Site Design
    • Commerce Site Design
    • Logo Design
    • Display Design

Step Two: List Your Features

Make a list of features you would like to include on your web site. These may features that are not specific to a page, like Statistics, Blogging, or Sharing on Social Media sites, etc. This list will help us make sure your site does what it should do. Not sure what you need, ask us and we can help.

Step Three: Gather Your Content

This is by far the most time consuming area of building a web site. If done well, your site will be loved by it’s audience. Be organized so we can help you create a great web site. Use your outline from above to gather content for each page.

Page Content should be given in this order:
1. The Page Title (If this is an existing page we need the URL / web address)
2. Headline
3. Subhead
4. Overview paragraph
5. More in-depth information
6. Photos
7. Reference URLs (web addresses)
8. Notes about the page, changes, links etc.

Step Four: Follow these Technical Specs for providing Content:

Text

  1. Should be given to us electronically, as an e-mail, MS Word or Apple Pages document. You can also send text files or type the information right into the e-mail.
  2. You should proof-read your text before you send it to us.

Photos

  1. Photos should be supplied as JPG files.
  2. Please pre-select the photos you want us to use, and only send us the selections. Choosing a photo from an entire CD of photos is time consuming and can get expensive.
  3. Photo files should be named so they are easily recognized. Example: Photo_Red_Car_Illustration_for_Client.jpg
  4. Include captions and descriptions for each to help search engines.

Links

  1. Always include the URL (web address) to the page you want us to create a link to.
  2. Double check the address to make sure it is a valid page.
  3. Tell us if the link should open a new window, or not.

You can download this guide as a PDF file by clicking here

 

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