Creating a
Web Site
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Chapter 9
Creating a Web Site
Section
Section
9-1
9-2
Conceiving a Web Site
Creating a
Planning a Web Site
Web Site
2
Creating a Web Site
Section 9-1
Why It’s Important
Setting objectives, generating ideas, and knowing
your customers are all essential to creating a
successful Web site.
Section 9-1
3
Creating a Web Site
Section 9-1
Key Terms
goals
objectives
brainstorming
Section 9-1
feasibility assessment
target market
demographics
4
Creating a Web Site
Goals and Objectives
Before you begin setting up
your online business, you
need to consider your
goals and objectives.
goals general targets a
person wants or expects
to reach sometime in the
future
objectives specific
targets to be reached by
a certain time, the
progress toward which
can be measured
Section 9-1
5
Goals and Objectives
The Five Ws
W is your target audience?
Who
W
What
do you hope to accomplish?
W
When
do you want it to be up and running?
W
Where
do you want your site to appear?
W do you want to build a Web site?
Why
Section 9-1
6
Creating a Web Site
Establishing Goals
An Internet business can express its goals through
a mission statement that it posts on its Web site.
A mission statement is a short, general description
that explains the purpose of a Web site and what
its creators hope to accomplish with it.
Section 9-1
7
Creating a Web Site
Setting Objectives
Setting and sticking to specific objectives will help
you accomplish your goals over the long term.
Write down your site’s objectives in quantifiable
terms, including how much time, information, and
money they will require.
Section 9-1
8
Creating a Web Site
Brainstorming
When you’re planning and
developing your site, it’s a
good idea to have a
brainstorming session.
Section 9-1
brainstorming activity
that involves a group of
people generating and
sharing ideas
9
Creating a Web Site
Feasibility Assessment
A feasibility assessment
is used to determine which
ideas should be taken to
the next step of the
planning process.
Section 9-1
feasibility assessment
takes ideas from the
brainstorming process
and examines how
practical they would be
to implement
10
Creating a Web Site
Conceptualizing
When conceptualizing your Web site, you should
start sketching samples of the Web site’s design.
Section 9-1
11
Creating a Web Site
Knowing Your Audience
Knowing your customers is
a crucial part of planning a
Web site.
target market the
specific group of
customers a business
wants to attract
To plan and design your
Web site, you will need to
identify your target market.
Section 9-1
12
Creating a Web Site
Knowing Your Audience
To determine your target
market, you’ll need to do
some basic research on
demographics.
Section 9-1
demographics
information about the
characteristics of
customers a business
serves, such as their
age, average income,
level of education, and
where they live
13
Creating a Web Site
Section 9-1
Review
1.
What is a feasibility assessment? Why might some
ideas be unfeasible?
2.
What is a target market? Why is it important to
know who your target market is when you’re
creating a Web site?
3.
What are demographics? How can they benefit an
online business?
Section 9-1
14
Creating a Web Site
Section 9-2
Why It’s Important
A well-designed and well-organized Web site that
is easy to navigate is more likely to attract
customers who will visit, browse, buy, and return.
Section 9-2
15
Creating a Web Site
Section 9-2
Key Terms
navigate
home page
layout
Section 9-2
site map
storyboards
navigation scheme
16
Creating a Web Site
Organizing the Site
Once you’ve established
your goals and objectives,
you’re ready to plan your
Web site.
navigate find a way
around a site, including
getting from page to page
and getting to and back
from other sites
You’ll want to make it easy
for visitors navigate your
site.
Section 9-2
17
Creating a Web Site
The Home Page
If you have an online
business, a home page is
like your storefront—it’s
the first thing your
customers see.
Section 9-2
home page a site’s main
page; usually the first page
that appears when you log
on to a site
18
Creating a Web Site
The Home Page
Your home page should:
attract visitors’
attention
Section 9-2
communicate
what your site
offers
reflect the
business’s
personality
19
Creating a Web Site
The Home Page
Your home page should
also have a simple and
logical layout.
layout refers to the
arrangement of the
elements on the page, such
as text, graphics, and
headlines
If your home page is
cluttered or disorganized,
potential customers might
become impatient and
leave.
Section 9-2
20
Creating a Web Site
Site Maps and
Storyboards
Each category on the home page should have its
own Web page that links back to the home page.
Each category might be broken down into smaller
subcategories that require separate Web pages.
Section 9-2
21
Creating a Web Site
Site Maps and
Storyboards
To organize your site
logically, you should draw
a site map.
site map a diagram of a
Web site’s overall structure
A site map is like an outline
or table of contents.
Section 9-2
22
Creating a Web Site
Site Maps and
Storyboards
To organize and lay out
each page, you should use
storyboards.
The storyboards will act as
blueprints for programmers
and graphic designers to
use in building the site.
Section 9-2
storyboards pencil
sketches or computergenerated images that
show what individual Web
pages will look like,
illustrating everything that
will appear on the Web
site, including text,
graphics, color schemes,
links, and menus
23
Creating a Web Site
Navigation Schemes
A navigation scheme can
be very complex, like a
web, but should be
designed so visitors can
easily navigate and
interact with your site.
Section 9-2
navigation scheme
shows how different Web
pages relate to one
another and link to other
sites
24
Creating a Web Site
Reaching Your Audience
You must make sure it’s easy for customers to
locate, access, and contact your site.
Section 9-2
25
Creating a Web Site
Reaching Your Audience
Customers visiting your site for the first time will
probably find it by using a browser.
For this reason, it’s wise to support—or make
your site readable by—all of the major Internet
browsers.
Section 9-2
26
Creating a Web Site
Reaching Your Audience
If your customers need special free software to
browse your Web site, you can provide a link to
the software so they can download it.
Section 9-2
27
Creating a Web Site
Reaching Your Audience
Once your customers have found you, you need
to set up a means for them to contact you to
establish good customer relations.
For this reason, include a Contact Us link, a
Guest List, and phone and fax numbers.
Section 9-2
28
Creating a Web Site
Editing Your Site
As you develop your site, you might want to
change its style or design.
To store all your information and keep track of
changes, create a folder on your local hard drive
that contains all of your Web files.
Section 9-2
29
Creating a Web Site
Editing Your Site
Once your pages are designed and coded, you
can test your Web site.
Test your Web files on various computer
platforms, such as Windows, Macintosh, and
Linux, before copying them onto the Web server.
Section 9-2
30
Creating a Web Site
Section 9-2
Review
1.
How is a home page like the front of a store?
2.
What is the difference between a site map and a navigation
scheme?
3.
What can you do for customers who need special software
to use your site?
4.
How can you keep track of your Web files so you can
change them? What should you do before you copy them
onto a Web server?
Section 9-2
31
Creating a Web Site
32
End of
Creating a
Web Site
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