Getting Started by Planning

What should I know before continuing?

You should know about UCO's resources and guidelines.

What preliminary planning should be done before creating a site?

Your site needs a target audience and a goal.   Who will be the beneficiaries of the information that you provide?  What do you want your site to accomplish?  Some supporting goals relating to style are imparting knowledge, assisting in knowledge retention,  enhancing visitor experiences, assisting with enterprise or institutional goals, and selecting text fonts, colors, backgrounds, and textures.

What things can be included in a web site?

Your site can give information in the same manner as a publication.  It can be used to inform, entertain, educate and interact.  It can be used to gather information from users.   Things that will assist you in reaching your site's goal can be included.  Your site should also include copyright and disclaimer information when necessary.

What is a site's content?  

A site's content is the text, graphics, and media used to present the information.  Content is usually independent of the software used to create it and the hardware used to make it available on the Internet.  Content should be understandable, short, factual, well-written, and interesting.

What style elements should be considered?

Style consideration includes the appearance of text, color, tables, text blocks, forms, and all other Web site features and elements.  Determining how content will be presented to the intended audience is a very important decision all Web developers must make.  Other style elements to consider are audio and audio-visual files, animations, text readers, increasing of text size, and adding multi-language features.  When selecting a Web site's style, the Web developer can exercise creativity in the manner in which content is to be displayed to users.

What about multimedia such as video streaming or podcasting?

Determining if streaming or podcasting should be included in your site depends on your target audience, if the content is suited for such a format, and the availability of plug-ins or browser support for the format.

What items are the core of a site plan?

The core of your site plan should include a navigation structure, a color palette, an element structure, and a directory/subdirectory plan.

What is a navigation structure?

A navigation structure identifies how the information will flow through your site and how a user will locate the information you present.  A good navigation structure will allow the user viewing your site to maneuver through the pages with ease.

What is a color palette?

A color palette is the scheme of colors that you use in your web site.  All University sites are moving toward an identifying color palette and logo.  Designing color schemes is a job for a graphics designer.

What is an element structure?

An element structure identifies where certain things will appear on a page.  For instance, this web uses a border for the heading and a left side border for navigation.  All the pages in this site have these elements.  Consistency within your site will help the person viewing your pages navigate easily.

What is a directory/subdirectory plan?

A directory/subdirectory plan makes a larger web site easier to manage.  It identifies where pages are located within the folders of your web site.

What does a site plan look like when it is complete?

A site plan is the document that is used as the blue print for your site. 

Now you are ready to develop your site.

Page updated:  25 Jul 2006 04:05:40 PM -0500