This document will help you plan the creation of a basic website.
Taking the time to plan your site will make it faster to build and
easier to maintain.
Pinpoint Your Market
Even a basic website is a powerful marketing tool. Think about the following:
- Who is the intended audience for this site?
- What do you want those site visitors to do after viewing the site?
- How can you provide the necessary tools for those visitors to take action?
Look at Other Sites
Take a look at your favorite volunteer-oriented sites to see how
they provide information and empower visitors to do something useful
with that information. Also note what doesn't work well, so you can avoid making the same mistakes in your own site.
Make A Site Diagram
Even a simple diagram showing how information in your site will be
organized can be very helpful. It will also help you to determine which
written content can be gleaned from existing documents, and which will
have to be written from scratch.
Pick A Team
It's very important that everyone in your organization understands
who is responsible for creating the site and who is responsible for
maintaining content on the site once it is built. If possible, a
"primary" content manager should also have an assistant to fill in when
needed. Although your webmaster does not need to be an HTML "whiz",
they will need to take the time to learn some basic web development
skills.
Build the Site
Be sure to keep copy short and to the point, because web visitors
tend to scan for information. Use graphics to add interest, but only
sparingly, so that pages load quickly.
A wide variety of site-building software is available. Some of the most popular are listed below. Note:
This information does not represent endorsement of any of the products
listed. It is provided to illustrate the range of products that are
commercially available for constructing websites.
HTML Tools
Adobe GoLive - Macintosh & Windows - $350-$400
Bare Bones BBEdit - Macintosh - $100-$125
Macromedia Dreamweaver MX - Macintosh & Windows - $350-$400
Macromedia HomeSite - Windows - $100
Microsoft Front Page - Windows - $150-$175
Graphics Tools
Adobe Photoshop/ImageReady - Macintosh & Windows - $500-$600
Adobe Photoshop Elements - Macintosh and Windows - $80-$100 (a pared down version of Adobe Photoshop)
CorelDraw Graphics Suite - Macintosh & Windows - $450-$550
Jasc Paintshop Pro - Windows - $100
Test It
Invite a few people who are unfamiliar with your program to take a
look at your site. After they've had a chance to peruse your site, ask
them some simple questions like:
- What is the program's mission?
- What has the program accomplished?
- How can you contact us?
- What opportunities are available?
- What action do you want visitors to take?
If these test visitors can't easily provide you with those answers,
then you may need to modify the site in order to make the information
more clearly visible.
Launch It
See the added Senior Corps Tech Center article: Website Hosting for more information on obtaining a domain name, finding the right hosting company, and launching your site. |
