• How to Start and Grow a Think Tank
• Grassroots Leadership Guide to K-12 Education Reform
  • Prologue
  • Decide What Type of Organization You Want to Become
  • Building and Maintaining an Effective Board
  • Get Things Up and Running
    • Overview
    • Defining Your Organization: Vision, Mission, Purpose
    • Increasing your Social Return on Investment through Technology
    • Harnessing Technology to Advance Our Ideas: Doing More With Less - The Bluegrass Story
    • Measure Success, Not Just Output
    • Web Design: Planning and Best Practices
    • Integrating Podcasting Into Your Organization
    • Communicating Success: The Value of a Strategic Communications Plan
    • Great Books on Leadership and Non-Profit Management
  • Legal Reference Material
  • Organize Your Staff and Volunteers
  • Examples of Programs and Operational Materials
  • Building Coalitions
  • Getting Your Message Out/Media Relations
  • Talking with Legislators
  • Raising Money
  • History of School Choice
  • Education Reform Research and Resources
  • Resources
• Taking Donors Seriously
• Fundraising Fundamentals

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Web Design: Planning and Best Practices

by Michael Toguchi, e-Resources

You have decided to create a website, or redesign an existing one. What do you do next? Determine your organizational wants, needs and limitations. Below are a few key questions that should be answered, and steps to take, before a colleague or outside web developer begins the work. The following can help you gather most necessary information needed to make the job go smoother and maximize the return on your technology investment.

Determine Your Organizational Needs

• Determine a project budget. You should plan for both the initial implementation, as well as your long-term goals. Be sure to account for potential scope creep or recurring costs, like hosting fees. You don't need to have a specific number, but you will need a range you are comfortable working in. Be sure to also explore any possible grants available to subsidize your project.
  
  
• What do you wish to accomplish with this web site? Create a list of goals, such as gaining exposure for your work, developing an online revenue stream, building a database of contacts, etc. You may even want to have a specific strategic design phase for the site. This planning phase includes creating a project budget, developing a list of business objectives, and internally review both creative needs and functionality requirements. Creating such a document might require an upfront cost, but it should save money in the long run and help your project run efficiently.
  
  
• Who are your targeted audiences, and what type of users will most likely visit your site? This is an important exercise, because it will determine the type of web site you want to build. If you have a youthful audience, you will want to explore blogging, RSS feeds and podcasting.
  
  
• How many pages do you expect to have? This can be very general - 1-10, 10-50, 50-250 and 250 or more. The number of pages will likely be determined by how often you or your staff can create content. A page can include static content, such as "About Us" or "Contact Information." Pages can also include substantive content such as published works or other web resources. You should talk with your web developer about the type information and content you want on your site.
  
  
• What would you like the general structure of the web site to be? The main navigation and site architecture is something that should be determined during your planning phase and not changed lightly. The best web users are repeat visitors, and they will value simplicity and consistency.
  
  
• What type of interface design do you want? Is there a particular color scheme that suits your organization? Are there creative elements you specifically want? Do you need branding or logo work done as well? Make sure to get a Cascading Style Sheet template that is flexible enough to accommodate changes.
  
  While graphical features can help grab attention, you should stay away from scrolling marquees, fading or moving text, cheesy animation, etc. They distract.
  
  
  
• How often do you plan on updating your site? Will it be a static, brochure-style site, or something that will be dynamically updated on a regular basis? The latter will require some type of Content Management System to internally administer the site. There are both customized and off-the-shelf options available.
  
  
• Do you require ecommerce capability? For example, will you be selling a publication or collecting online donations? If so, you'll need a Secure socket layer (SSL) Certificate from Verisign, Geotrust, or another credible vendor. An SSL Certificate ensures that sensitive information such as credit card numbers or social security numbers are safely tranmitted from your web site.
  
  
• Create a timeline for launching your site and developed an integrated marketing strategy for promotion.
  

This is the foundation for your entire project and will help focus your search. How you answer these questions, in terms of size, functionality, budget and timeline will determine what type of developer you should look for. It will also help guide your development team to the solution that best suits your needs.

Find a Web Developer

The best way to learn of a web developer is through referral. Browse through partner organization or competitor web sites and look for a link to their web designer. Talk to your contacts at those organizations to get a feeling for the company; ask them:

• Is the web developer friendly and easy to work with?
• Is the company responsive?
• Does the company produce quality work in a timely fashion?

After you get a list of web developers, explore their portfolio. Examine some of their recent accomplishments to see if you like the design style and features. Be sure to make a list of any web sites (in general that you like, or sites that the company has created?) for later discussion. This should include both sites that the developer created, as well as other designs you generally like. Read some of their press releases and take note of the subject matter - it can tell you a lot about the company. For instance, beware of companies or individuals that focus exclusively on look and feel or content - these tell-tale signs indicate design or marketing-centric companies who do web work on the side. Look for an organization whose primary focus is the web. Your web developer needs to be able to provide help across many areas - design, content, workflow, functionality, hosting, database creation, marketing, etc.

Now, take the list of the sites created by the web developer and try them on for size. For each site, ask yourself:

• Is the site easy to navigate? Is it easy to find your way back to places?
• Is there a design consistency across all of the pages?
• Is the site aesthetically appealing? Is the text easy to read?
• Can you easily locate key information? Is the home page organized or overloaded?
• Do the pages load quickly? You'll need to find a host for your site, and that environment will determine your site's performance.

After you answer these questions, you should be able to narrow your list of web developers down to a handful of favorites. It's time to contact potential developers.

Getting in Touch

There are a number of different ways to handle the contact and selection phase. If you have already narrowed your search, you can call the potential developers directly. If you would like a more formal process, your staff can build a Request for Proposal (RFP) and send it to potential vendors. In either case, you should provide vendors with as much information as possible about your needs. You should set up meetings to discuss the project and "test drive" their products or see their portfolio. You can also use tools like GoToMeeting for product demonstrations of out-of-town vendors. Get a few solid references to call and learn about the company's previous work.

After meeting with these groups, they should submit a proposal with specific deliverables, price estimates, and project timeline. Be sure to read through this thoroughly and ask any questions you might have before signing. If necessary, schedule a follow-up meeting to review the document. You may need to request revisions or just get clarification. Once you have made a decision, you're ready to start the project.

Micheal Toguchi is communication director at e-Resources.