Web Centre

Getting started

Assemble a Web team

Decide which skills and knowledge, and therefore which people, you will need to create your Web Site. Do you have someone with knowledge of the content that you intend to turn into a site - as this is essential for shaping the structure/organisation of the site? Will you need a designer to give the site a particular look? Do you have knowledge of a Web Site creation package like Dreamweaver or Frontpage to be able to create Web pages? How much of the work will you be doing yourself or will you be paying someone else to do it for you?

Know your audience

Think about the people who might use your site and then from day one create the site with them in mind. A well planned site should be able to cater for different levels of user - novice through advanced. If your audience are used to a particular organisational structure then mirroring that with a Web Site may prove beneficial. If you're really serious about finding out what makes your audience tick then you might want to conduct some research.

Knowing what to avoid

The best way to avoid problems with your own site is to look at other people's Web sites, including your competitors (if you have any). Decide what works and what doesn't - learn from others' mistakes. Be inspired but don't copy.

Write a site spec document

Write a document that will act as a blueprint for your Web Site. It should say how long you expect the project to take, aims, objectives, outcomes and how you might measure the success of your Web. You may have to make modifications to your plan as you go along but having a clear idea about what it is you are trying to achieve will result in a much better site than if you have no clear vision.

You can download an example site spec with some ideas of what to think about when writing your own site specification.