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Archive for the ‘Website Planning’ Category
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
By Nora McDougall-Collins
Let’s say that you want to learn something about a product you just bought; so you go to the company’s web site. That product could be a motorcycle part, a new computer, your credit card, etc.
Delivering product information on the web is a great tool for both the company and the client. It could mean less phone time for the company (save employee hours and $$$.) For the client it means not having to wait for business hours to get an answer, and not having to sit on hold, and not having to understand an unfamiliar accent, and not having to deal with untrained phone staff, and being able to go back and forth through the information, as needed.
But, unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. I recently got my new NNFP phone (740-541-2857), which is from Alltel, and I needed to set up the voicemail. I hate waiting for phone prompts so I thought, “they probably have all the steps to set up voicemail on their web site!” Then I can just read and push buttons without waiting for the messages. I found out that their web site uses the typical barriers that keep people from using a web site. In my case, I went ahead and used the prompts, and I get to write this article about how they kept me out of their site!
Here is a screenshot of the Alltel web site:
They don’t really tell me on the front page what resources are available on their web site. I know who they are, but I don’t know “whatcha got.” I don’t have a log in. I don’t want to buy a Treo. I already have a phone in my hand; so, I don’t want to buy a new one. I’m not checking their models. I don’t need a prepaid plan. Since that about covers everything on their front page, they obviously don’t have the information I need on their web site. Well, actually, it’s entirely possible that they have spent a lot of $$$ making pages that explain their voicemail functions, but they have hidden them!
Here’s another one. SalesForce.com. This company has an online Contact Management Resource package. Sounds like a tool I would like to use! But I don’t know whether their software is easy to use or does what I want it to do. So, I look for a demo (the first thing you should do when looking for software.) But, like Alltel, they have put up a barrier to me, as a potential consumer. To get a demo, I have to fill out a form. Now, I understand that if I’m going to demo a car, they need to know who I am, in case I don’t bring it back! However, I’m not exactly going to run away with their online software. Not only do I get a demo, but I get a call, and I get an ongoing stream of spams from them. Oh, I guess it’s not spam, because they think that wanting to see the demo is the same as wanting an endless stream of emails.
Would you feel there was a barrier if your favorite clothes store made you fill out a form before they let you try on that nice fuzzy sweater? Well, I filled out their form, and I get the endless stream of emails, but their online demo was mostly a sales pitch, and not much of a demo! Like the Alltel site, SalesForce had the opportunity to make me think that their product was easily available and easy to use, but they pretty much made sure that I didn’t want to use their web site.
How do you avoid putting up barriers on your web site? First, be aware of the types of barriers that annoy you! Then have a few people (not your Mom) try specific tasks on your web site – like pretend they want to buy something! Ask them how many steps they had to take, and whether they found what they wanted!
Posted in Web Content, Website HELP Articles, Website Planning | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
By Nora McDougall-Collins
There’s no way to get around it – your website has to be hosted somewhere. Finding a web host is like finding a mechanic when your car breaks down in a strange town. There are plenty of them, but which ones are fantastic, which ones are semi-competent, which ones are incompetent and which ones are pure thieves?
Before we launch into a discussion about good and bad web hosts, I should probably explain what a web host is. Every website has to be hosted on a web server somewhere. A web server is basically a computer with software that knows how 1) to take calls asking for web page, 2) package a web page for delivery, and 3) send the package to the right computer. Oh, and by the way, the web server needs to be able to tell the difference between a genuine web page request and one that is asking the computer to attack something. Believe it or not, there are bad guys out there trying to get web servers to do all kinds of bad things.
When you order a web hosting package from a web host. you get a place to store your web files where they are available to the public (storage.) You also get a certain amount of work that the computer can do, such as deliver web pages (transfer.) These are the main services you need, but there are other services, such as email and database, available too.
Here are some of my experiences with web hosts.
The first high-tech company I worked for was a web host, besides providing design, programming and some other web services to a particular industry. Not a single employee, including myself, had any formal training in web development or programming. We learned by the seat of our pants.
A lot of web hosts today are just someone who figures it’s just a quick way to turn a buck.
In our case, we weren’t credentialed, but we had a great customer service ethic, and if something went wrong we worked double time to fix the problem. But, one time a new tech guy completely deleted a new client’s web site. The words “off-site backup” took on new meaning!
What kind of backup system does your web host have? if the server with your website on it goes down, what will they do?
My next web hosting experience was with a great company, based in Missouri, called Communitech. Their system was great, and their support was even better. But, they were so good, a company called Interland bought them out. It was downhill from there. I teach web development classes, and I put all my course materials on my web site. Three times in one year, I got to class to find out that my site was not functional. When I would call, they would fix it, but their main emphasis was to try to get me to buy a new hosting package. Finally, late one night I got one of the original tech support guys on the line. He said that Interland was cutting back on all their resources, human and computer. All they really wanted was the client base!
So, I moved my site to a local, Missoula, web hosting company, called Modwest. And, I told them that, if they sell to Interland, I’m moving my site.
Do you have a list of other great web hosting companies, in case yours goes bad?
Another company I worked for hosted one of their sites with Interland. The company has a weekly emailed newsletter with links to various articles on their web site. A large portion of their weekly traffic comes on the day the newsletter goes out. About 3 or 4 weeks a year, the web site goes down on the day that the newsletter goes out. And they can’t seem to figure it out themselves. We had to call then to let them know that the server was down. I found out that their web servers are set up so that one site is only on one server. If that server goes down, all the sites are dead. Modwest has their web sites on clusters of servers. If one goes down, the others in the cluster pick up the load. You would think that at the very least, if the Interland servers go down, someone would be alerted and fix it before we have to call!
Look into your web host’s “configuration” before you sign up!
I wish that this were the end of my “bad experience stories,” but it’s not. If you have your own stories, I’d like to hear them!
Posted in Website HELP Articles, Website Planning, Website Set-Up | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
By Nora McDougall-Collins for the National Network of Forest Practitioners
FIRST!!! Before you do anything on your web site, stop and ask yourself what your message is! Then figure out who you want to deliver it to. If you have a web site, show it to someone who doesn’t know your organization and ask them to look at your site and tell you what you do, based on the information on your web site.
I’d like to thank Harry Groot, who has given me permission to use the Blue Ridge Woodland Coop web site as a case study in our efforts to help our forest practitioner organizations and businesses have successful web sites. First, notice that their site has a great visual design:
However, the question is, what is the message of this home page? Viewers will decide whether they like your site in less time than it takes to blink and eye*. If the home page doesn’t show them what they want, people aren’t likely to click to your inside pages. Do you click on sites that don’t have what you want on the home page?
The main message of the Blue Ridge Woodland Coop is that their members have wood products for sale. Then the underlying message is that they are a community effort, etc. The images currently on the home page are more like a site promoting real estate or travel in the area, where the natural beauty is what the visitor is buying. It all goes back to “What are you trying to say?”
SECOND!!! Figure out who cares about (or should care about) what you are trying to sell, and what is important to them? If your site is about selling flooring, what do those folks care about? Well, first they care about what the floor will look like. So, they want to see it – not the boards, the floor! Then, they care about how well it will wear when someone walks across it with their muddy boots (horrors) or drives Tonka trucks over it (the little darlings.) Finally, they want to brag about how much better their wood flooring is than all their friends floors because it comes from sustainably harvested trees, etc. “And, by the way, I can show you a picture of the guys who grew the trees, cut the trees and made the flooring right on this web site!” So, where can I get a floor like that???? Can’t let my golfing/gardening/business/etc. acquaintance have a better floor than I do!
YOUR WEB SITE HAS TO SAY ALL THAT IN A FEW PHOTOS AND TEXT ON YOUR HOME PAGE. After the photos hook them, the specific details follow on inside pages, but the front page has to hook them. Notice that they don’t really care about how wonderful your organization is until after they see what they want? Your inside pages should also reflect how wonderful each of your members is, as well. Make a personal connection, and folks will come back.
So, should they start the Blue Ridge Forest Cooperative site over? Absolutely not! They just need to make some adjustments. Somewhere the web developer didn’t get the message. When you are looking for a web developer, the people you interview should be spending as much time asking about what you do, and what your message is, as you do asking them questions. That person should tell you how they are going to get your message across, not just how beautiful your site will be.
What is the old saying,” Beauty is as beauty does.” It applies to websites too!
I look forward to seeing the website changes that Blue Ridge Forest Co-op will be making in-house, as I work with them by phone and webinar! They already have some high quality photos taken of their members and their products through the People and Land project. NNFP is proud to be working with great grassroots organizations!
*Article about Canadian Research on how long it takes someone to make a decision about a web site. “Gitte Lindgaard of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and lead researcher of the paper expressed her surprise at the results.”
Posted in Web Content, Website HELP Articles, Website Planning | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
By Nora McDougall-Collins for the National Network of Forest Practitioners
Once you have a preliminary plan for your website project, it is time to start looking for a developer who can take your project through the rest of the planning and production. Even people with technical backgrounds can hire the wrong developer; so, for those without web technical experience, the risks are even higher. However, you are more likely to find a good developer, if you take the time to do your homework.
Many businesses hire the most convenient person for the job. This person might be “the kid down the street” or the “great package” on a website. Without checking further, you may be buying yourself a nightmare. So, take a good look under the hood before buying.
The developer can make or break a project for many reasons, including:
1. Quality of communication between you and the developer.
2. Amount of time the developer has available for your project.
3. Hiring a developer with the right skill set for your project.
4. The developers work habits – what good does it do to get a great site, if it’s impossible to maintain later
5. Matching your style with the developer’s style
Finding Web Developers to Interview
1. Make a list of ten sites that you like. Find 5 sites in your industry and 5 sites that have features you need on your site, which aren’t in your industry. Record the addresses of those sites with a comment about why you chose that site.
2. Ask your business acquaintances for web developer recommendations. Ask them why they recommended that person or company. Ask them about costs and communications.
3. Ask your business acquaintances for web development horror stories. Find out specifically why it was a bad experience. Your situation may be entirely different, but the information will help you understand what can go wrong.
4. Based on these recommendations (and other services you may find out about,) call at least 5 developers and ask about their availability. It doesn’t matter how good they are, if they can’t fit you in, they can’t fit you in.
5. Set up meetings with the developers to discuss your project. You may need to pay for their time because, if they are any good, they will be giving you some expert advice as part of the discussion. Everything you learn now, will make the project cheaper later.
6. If a developer tells you that more planning needs to be done, you are probably speaking to a good developer.
Check off list for your Conversations
Here are some of the things that should be included in your conversations: These aren’t black and white questions. They are designed to help you get a well-rounded picture of each potential developer.
There probably isn’t a developer out there who will be perfect for you in each item. For example, in projects that require high quality graphics, I recommend that prospective clients hire a graphic designer for that part of a website, because I don’t have graphic design training and abilities.
1. Explain your project to the potential developer. As part of the process, show the developer the sites you chose from the previous section and your thoughts.
2. Ask the developer how he would go about building such a site with that information.
3. Did the developer give you plain English explanations to support the suggestions?
4. Did the developer spend a lot of time asking you about your needs, listening carefully and making suggestions?
5. Make a list of the skills and experience the developer has, including what software packages she would use to develop your site.
6. Is there a match between the skills of the developer and your website needs?
7. Find out whether your developer is available for a long term business relationship.
8. Will it be easy to find someone else who knows those software packages, should that developer become unavailable later on (you will have to verify this by asking others?)
9. What pricing system does the developer use?
10. Do the sites the developer has previously created match your style and needs?
11. What types of responses did you receive from the developer’s references?
If you are new to these topics, be extra careful. Each of these topics is a potential breaking point for your project. Look for a developer who will take the time to help you understand the topic. Each of these questions will be discussed further in future articles.
Posted in Website HELP Articles, Website Planning | No Comments »
Sunday, September 5th, 2010
By Christy McDougall for the National Network of Forest Practitioners
You are about to walk into a building, in a hurry, and the door won’t open. You push and push on the bar that is supposed to open the door, and it won’t work. After a frustrated moment, you realize you are pushing on the wrong side of the bar. With a humiliated feeling that you’ve just made an idiot out of yourself, you slink inside and hurry away from that door, knowing you’ll probably do exactly the same thing the next time.
Is there something wrong with you, that you can’t work a simple door? No. There is something wrong with the door. If it is difficult for you, the user, to use something as simple as a door, the door has been designed badly. And why has a bad design been implemented into a building? Because the designers did not test it on real human beings. If they had called in five random people off the street and asked them to open the door, they would have seen in about five minutes that they had some work to do to make their door usable.
Websites work the same way. What designers assume will be easy usually isn’t easy to the average person who happens upon the website. Website creators may be so familiar with their sites and with complicated computer tasks that they can lose sight of what is and what is not simple to other people. If it isn’t easy to use the site, the user will become frustrated, and no one wants the main feeling people have about their website to be frustration. That is why even the most basic website could benefit hugely from some simple usability testing.
Usability testing asks a few average people to sit down at a website and try to figure out what it’s for and how to use it without any prior knowledge of it. The average person should be able to tell in a split second, without any guessing, what your site is about, and the average computer user should be able to maneuver around the site without getting lost and to perform most tasks without trouble.
The easiest way to perform your own usability testing is to grab a couple friends or relatives who haven’t been on your site and ask them to take five minutes to play around on it. Give them a task to perform, like signing up for your newsletter or finding a certain page. Watch what they do, how much they hesitate over certain things. Ask them for feedback, especially what problems they had. Sometimes what you thought to be perfectly obvious won’t be obvious to them at all. Then go and fix the problems, and later ask a few others to try it and find out if you fixed them as well as you thought you did.
If you have a larger business or run an association with members, it is recommended that you get your new members to do usability testing. When you have a new form for members to fill out online, test it on a few of them and ask them to tell you how it worked for them. Many people will stay politely quiet when they find errors in forms, but when you ask, you will get plenty of very useful feedback. Listen to both the experts, who know how a good website should work, and to the beginners, who have yet to memorize all the computer rules many of us take for granted.
It is always a good idea to offer some compensation for your testers’ time, even (or especially) if they are friends or family members. Sustainable Woods Network conducts usability testing by offering free services if members will be willing to be testers. You might offer a gift certificate, money, or a product or service from your business.
Remember: your site is for other people. You want it to attract people by its beauty, its clarity of purpose, and its ease of use. Your site should give people who stumble upon it the best possible sense of your business. Even if you feel your site is absolutely wonderful, you should give your customers a chance to say how it makes them feel, because they are what is most important. Your customers and clients are your business’s lifeblood, and usability testing can help you create a site that attracts them rather than driving them away.
Usability testing resources: Web usability consulting – http://www.sensible.com/
Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. A book by Steve Krug.
Posted in Web Content, Website HELP Articles, Website Planning, Website Set-Up | Comments Off
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
NNFP Director of Web Services
What Types of Sites Require a Programmer
Websites that only involve HTML code and image files are called static sites. With static sites, every time you want a new page on your website, you build it and link it from the other pages. The only thing that viewers can do on a static site is click a link and view the page. With basic web development and graphic skills, you can build a static site.
Programmed, or dynamic website pages are a more complicated. Any page where a viewer can enter data or make choices beyond clicking is a programmed web page, also called a dynamic page. Web pages with search boxes or shopping carts are examples of dynamic pages.
Many dynamic websites are database driven. That means that you enter the information you want to show up into an online form. The programming attached to the online form puts the information into the database Then, when a viewer goes to the page, the programming on the page displays the relevant data from the database. That is how blog software, such as WordPress works. You enter your new blog entry into a form. The blog software pushes the entry into the database. When viewers go to your blog, the programming shows them your latest post and creates links to other posts.
What the Programmer will do for you
Explain the process: You may be able to choose, download and install the program you need on your website. Many people do. However, most people do not find it quite as easy as the software website claims it is! Once you have been through the process one time, it starts to make some sense, and further website software installations are much easier. Here are some things you may need a programmer to do for you: Expect your programmer to explain each step; so, that you can decide whether you want to do this for yourself the next time.
Define requirements: A good programmer will help you create a list of User Requirements, which defines what you want the software to do and how. For example, how do you want the system to respond if a viewer types their phone number in the first name field to order your product? Should the system just take the phone number and go on? Should the system go blank? Should the system give the viewer a prompt that numbers aren’t allowed in the First Name field? A programmer can help you make a list of requirements that looks like “The program should …” Example: The program should send the user an email to confirm the transaction.
Match software packages to requirements: After you have a list of requirements, a programmer can help you find a list of software products that fulfills those requirements. Software websites have lists of the features of the software. Unfortunately, those features are often written in geek, not in plain English. You may want to review the lists with your programmer to learn the terminology and what it means to your website. Also, those lists only list the major features, not the details of how each feature works. However, the feature list will help you find a short list of the packages that meet your major requirements.
Match software to server resources: Part of creating your short list will also be considering what type of server resources you have available on your web server compared to the resources the software needs. One of the big decisions will be whether the software should be able to run on a Linux server or a Windows server. If you already have a website, you may not be able to switch server types easily. Your programmer will help you make the match.
If your server is a Linux server, you can’t add any programs written in ASP or ASP.NET. There are many other server decisions that your programmer should understand. If the software was written in a new version of PHP or other programming language, does your web hosting company have the right version on their server? Also, the software may take some special additional server features. If your web server doesn’t have those features, that software cannot run on that web server. Sometimes it’s just a matter of your programmer knowing how to turn those features on in your hosting package.
Test user interface and marketing truthfulness: After you have found the short list of packages that match your web server resources, it is time to test the programming through a demo version. If the software site doesn’t offer a demo, don’t add them to your short list. You should be testing the demo as if you were one of your customers. While a programmer should also test the system from the user interface standpoint, the programmer should also be testing how difficult it will be for you to add your data to the system, and other aspects that will affect your workflow. It is not uncommon to test many packages and find out that none of them match your needs exactly.
Due diligence: For the 2 or 3 demos that most closely match your requirements, have your programmer call the staff of sites that use that software. If the software is very common, your programmer won’t have added them to the list, if they weren’t good. Sometimes, it is amazing what people will tell you about the software. I have had software clients who were listed on someone’s website tell me that the software was just awful and they switched! You can do this step, but your programmer will know more questions to ask.
Downloading and installing: after you have settled your decision on which software package to use, you will download the software into the development computer, extract the files from the archived version and upload them to your web server. The system you want may actually have different archive versions. Your programmer should understand the different versions and recommend the right one for your situation.
The software package you selected is likely to require a database. If you have never set up a database within your server space, your programmer should know how to set it up for you. Some web hosting companies make it very easy to set up a new database in your control panel. The install process for your new software will probably require you to “configure” the software to work with your web server and with your database server before the software is functional. Again, your programmer should be happy to explain this part to you.
Web services: Some program systems are actually web services that run on their servers, such as PayPal or Regonline. When your viewers uses those services, connected with your website, they actually aren’t working in your files, they are working in web service files that are within your account. WordPress has both an online web service and a downloadable version for installation on your own web server. Your programmer should discuss the benefits and weaknesses of either choice.
Customizing the software package: There may be a few things about your new software that you wish worked differently. If your software is open source, your programmer will be able to tweek those things for you. Always be aware that any tweeking that is done may not work with upgrades to the software package.
Conclusion
The first time you set up software on your website, it might seem like an extremely complicated and never ending process, even if you have the assistance of a programmer. However, once you have a successful, functional installation, the next time, your experience will shorten the time and learning curve for the installation of other software packages!
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Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
NNFP Director of Web Services
Introduction
A website with no programming is called a static site. Static means is that every page has to be created and sent to your web server individually. A dynamic website is one where a few template-type pages are created and programming pulls information into the pages and creates the links. An online shopping cart is an example of a dynamic site. Every product page uses the same design, but the content areas show different products. The products are listed in a database or XML file and pulled into the pages when the viewer clicks a link.
If you have more than just a few products, or you need online ordering, it’s not efficient to have a static website. However, you may start with a static site that features a few products, until you’ve taken the time to really investigate the best software for your online catalog. Check out this article, which explains about small, static websites, http://www.nnfp.org/Activities/WebServices/Articles/PlanningSmallWebsite.htm
Software for your Static Website
Choosing the right software to develop your website takes planning and will affect how easy, or impossible, it is to maintain your site over time. For example, I have worked with two websites that were built in the Microsoft .NET system in such a way that made it impossible for the site owners to make any changes without going back to the original developer. In both cases, a different system would have made it possible for the site owner to take control over some of the maintenance tasks. In one case, the developer built the messiest backend I have ever seen.
Do you choose the software that your developer uses, or do you choose the software and then find a developer that is competent with that software? Either way works, if you take a little time to understand the side effects of your decision. If you find a developer who is competent and will be available over the long term, you may want to purchase and use the system he uses. On the other hand, if the developer proves to be incompetent or unavailable, you may be stuck with a difficult system.
Microsoft .NET is best used in a company that has an IT department, where programmers will always be available. The system allows for adding quick pieces of programming to a website. Often “quick” means that the developer doesn’t really know how to program, just how to drag pieces of programming into the pages. If you are going to start with a static site, you do not need .NET. Unless you plan to buy .NET and learn how to use it, do not hire a developer who builds in .NET.
Microsoft FrontPage is an old system that is no longer supported by Microsoft. Many people learned how to use FrontPage to develop quick sites, but did not learn good design or structural principles. For many years, FrontPage was the cheapest tool available. If a prospective developer uses FrontPage, he hasn’t upgraded his skills since the early years of 2000 or before. Do not hire a developer who only has experience with FrontPage.
Dreamweaver has been the “industry standard” for many years. Dreamweaver is a very flexible piece of software that works for static sites or dynamic sites. The software “grows” with your website, as you go from a small, static site to a programmed site. I even used Dreamweaver to fix the .NET mess mentioned above. However, Dreamweaver has a learning curve and can be pricy for many small businesses.
Dreamweaver has its own template system, which makes the development and maintenance of your website very efficient because a change to the template changes all pages that use the template. Dreamweaver even comes with basic website templates already created. But, the template system only works within the Dreamweaver program, even though any of the resulting pages can be opened in other systems.
If a developer is using Dreamweaver, it is more likely that she understands how website structure really works, than those who deal strictly with online templates, .NET or FrontPage. That doesn’t mean that the developer uses Dreamweaver well; so, be sure to check out her work too.
Joomla is a web development system that is growing in popularity. Technically, it is actually a Content Management System (CMS) because after a design is developed, you can add your content through online forms, instead of creating each page individually. Most website owners with Joomla sites, still have to go back to their developers when they want to rearrange items on their site. Joomla also comes with “widgets” such as calendars, which are nice little programmed features for your site.
This list is not exhaustive. There are many other systems available, and more systems will become available over time. Ask your business acquaintances with websites what software their developer uses and whether it is flexible to their needs.
Choosing your Developer
For a static website, you don’t need a programmer; you just need someone who can build web pages. However, there is a difference between knowing how to use a piece of web development software and understanding how a website works. If there is a good developer available, that developer will be able to adapt to new software, even though he will be most comfortable with the systems he has already used. It is better to put a competent person on the software of your choice than to choose someone who can use a particular piece of software, but who doesn’t really understand websites. It has been my task to fix many sites built badly by someone who had only learned the software piece. In many cases, that person had “taken a class” that didn’t teach web principles, only how to use the software. Even more unfortunate is that many of those classes are taught at the university level.
When a developer presents you with some work samples (only accept samples which are currently online), you might consider getting a second opinion on their work. Ask the person doing the second opinion about what the effects of the “back-end” will be on your work to maintain the site. The main thing to consider is that you, the business owner, have to live with the long term results of the developer and the software you choose.
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Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
NNFP Director of Web Services
Once you have a plan to build a website, you need professional help to develop the site. The range of computer professions is as wide as the range of medical professions. It is as unreasonable to expect one person to know everything about computers as it is to expect your podiatrist to do brain surgery.
One decision that will affect your developer choice is whether your site will be static or dynamic. In a static site, someone builds each page on the site. In a dynamic site, pages have a basic template and then programming fills in the content. For example, there are no developers sitting at Google creating each search page you ask for. There is a basic template for the search results and programming takes the results from a database, makes the page and sends it back to the viewer. One of the most common types of website programming is a shopping cart. The more your site depends on programming, the more important the role of the programmer is.
The following job descriptions will help you look for people with the skills you need.
1. Web Designer/Developer: a web designer is in charge of “look and feel”, page flow and how easy your site is for viewers to use (user interface.) Many designers have a background in creating print brochures, which is a very different environment from the web. Go to the websites the designer has designed. Check a) how appealing they are, b) how well they fit within their market, c) how comfortable they are to use.
The web designer may just produce a layout image, instead of a website. In that case, you will need a web developer to take the design and turn it into a web page structure. The designer has the graphic art and layout skills and the web developer has the technical skills to turn the design into a website.
If you are very new to owning a website, your designer may also act as a project manager to help you decide what you need to have on your website and manage the project until it is completed. This may include writing a development plan for your website, which discusses your market, what is unique about your company, what pages your site should have, special features for your website, and long term marketing and maintenance.
2. Copywriter: No matter how great the design is, without text about your product or service, the developer cannot finish the site. The development of many sites has been abandoned or held up because the developer was waiting for words to put on the pages.
Writing for web pages is somewhat different than writing for a printed page. It is more difficult to read a computer screen than a printed page. Viewers also have different expectations from websites than from printed materials. Paragraphs generally need to be shorter and simpler.
If you don’t already have written materials, or if you don’t like to write (or you don’t write well), you may need to hire a copywriter to create your online text. Again, read samples from the copywriter’s work to make sure that the writing is well-written and interesting.
3. Graphic Artist/Photographer: your web designer may not have the skills to create logos, specific icons and illustrations for your website. In fact, your web designer is more like a layout artist that takes pieces and creates a unified look and an overall plan. If your web designer isn’t an illustrator, you may need to have a graphic artist create the specific elements the designer needs for the site.
Bad photos make a bad website. You can make bad photos better, but you can never make them great. There is nothing that can replace high quality photos for your website. Having a professional photographer is the best solution, but, if you are going to take your own photos, take photography courses and learn how lighting and perspective affect how people interpret your photos.
4. Programmer: special website features, such as a shopping cart, online gallery, forms, etc are created with databases and programming. This is a skill beyond static web structure, and requires programming skills. There may already be software written that will match your needs, or that can be customized to fill your needs, but you may still need a programming to find that software or install it.
If the programming on your website is very extensive, your programmer should also offer to create a software plan. It is very expensive to make major changes to programming; so, the more nitty-gritty items you figure out ahead of time, the more you will save in the long run. Watch for upcoming articles specifically about web programming.
5. Webmaster: this is the person who keeps your site going after it is built. When you need a new page added, a photo switched, prices changed, etc., that is the task of the webmaster. If your webmaster is contract labor, instead of an employee, you need to keep in mind that that person has other clients. Your work may be put on a list and not be done for several weeks. The best thing you can do is have someone on staff, who has the training to make those urgent changes that can’t wait.
Plan to spend a couple of hours conversing with each of the people you are considering. Those conversations will help you understand both the person’s knowledge and more about the construction process of your website.
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Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
NNFP Director of Web Services
Introduction
There are many web sites that offer you an inexpensive way to create a website with their template system. The templates exist on their servers, and the resulting website is hosted within their system. This is different from getting a template that you move into your computer to create your website. Some common places that you can go for these sites are Yahoo, Network Solutions, Volution and, possibly, even your webhost.
Online template systems are found online, and, typically offer you an “easy” and inexpensive way to build your website. Notice the quotations about easy. The actual process of building and maintaining the online template site might not feel like it’s easy and inexpensive. The reality is that, in most cases, it really is easier to use an online template system than it is to start a new website from scratch. Also, you can get a site up much more quickly because the internal structure and background images of the site are already done.
One downside is that because the site is held completely within a different system, you can’t just take a copy of it, if you decide to move your site. The only parts of the site that are yours are your own images and text. Another downside is that the site is only changeable within the areas of the pages that they have set the programming to allow the text or image changes. Some online template systems allow more changes than others. Finally, while these sites offer many professional quality graphics for your use, those same graphics are available to their other clients.
How Online Templates Work
Most everything that you add to your online template website is through a normal online form. You enter your titles, prices, image descriptions, paragraphs, etc through a form. You upload your product images through a Browse button. In other words, you don’t have to do (or know) any coding. You fill out the forms and the pages are created by the programming.
However, using these systems is not as “bingo presto” as the advertisement say it is. There is no getting around the fact that even small websites are complicated. They are a combination of code and design and images and photography and text and, marketing.. It is not realistic to expect that a unique website can be built with a couple of clicks. Online web templates have to give you a place to add elements that will show up on every page, such as your banner and contact information. They also have to deal with your content pages. If they decide ahead of time what pages you get, you might want those changed. What if you want some of the content on the pages to be formatted your way, instead of their way? It is possible that they will give you a place to add your HTML code, but then you have to know the code. The templates have to allow you to add images, but do those images go where you want them. And, if you supply the images, who will create them?
Some online templates that look great, only look great in certain browsers and at certain screen resolutions. I have looked at the coding, for some online templates, and found many coding errors, which some browsers can deal with and others not. One situation was when an acquaintance sent out the web address of a relative’s new website. I opened it in one browser, and the middle of the page had sunk below the first screen on most pages. When I checked the code, I found many CSS errors – but you have to know the code to understand what happened.
If you want an online shopping cart, you will also have to have photos of all your products, product descriptions, prices, shipping information, tax information, your merchant account information for credit card processing, etc. If you have hundreds of products, just the task of preparing the information for your shopping cart can be quite lengthy.
Finding the Right Developer for your Template Site
Some people who sign up for a template site, do just fine figuring out the system on their own. Others are completely lost. I have been asked to help with a Yahoo template site and a Volusion template site. Even with years of web development experience, I did not find either system intuitive to use. In fact, I was surprised at how badly they labeled the links to go through the systems and how badly they explained the development steps. I did find that Volusion had excellent technical support by phone, but it would have been better if they had just created a good interface for regular people instead of for their own techs.
So, the developer for your online template site should have some experience with online templates (as opposed to just building sites from scratch.) Before you sign up for an online template system, ask the developer which template systems work best. If they already have successful experiences with a certain product, it will save a lot of time ($$$) to use that system. The developer will also be able to tell you the shortcomings of different systems – but not all systems as they come and go.
Your developer should also have great communication skills to show you how to weed through the backend mess. In most cases, you don’t want to depend on your developer for every little website change in the future. That’s why you are using the templates in the first place! But, ask your developer if he or she will be available to give you a hand, if something unexpected comes up.
Your developer should also understand how websites work. Such a developer will know what ought to be available in the forms and will have a better idea what to hunt for. The developer will also know what to ask technical support, who may or may not communicate well. For example, by calling technical support, I found out that Volusion won’t allow you to have more than one domain name unless you register those domain names through them. For that client, I had the second domain name pointed through their registrar, by-passing the online template system. But, I had to have the background to know that it should be available and that there had to be another way around the block.
Finally, it is not unusual for an online template system to go down (broke.) That means that your website will disappear. And, as I mentioned before, you can’t pick it up and move it. So, have a backup plan for a new website.
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Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
By Nora McDougall-Collins
NNFP Director of Web Services
Once you have a preliminary plan for your website project, it is time to start looking for a developer who can take your project through the rest of the planning and production. Even people with technical backgrounds can hire the wrong developer; so, for those without web technical experience, the risks are even higher. However, you are more likely to find a good developer, if you take the time to do your homework.
Many businesses hire the most convenient person for the job. This person might be “the kid down the street” or the “great package” on a website. Without checking further, you may be buying yourself a nightmare. So, take a good look under the hood before buying.
The developer can make or break a project for many reasons, including:
1. Quality of communication between you and the developer.
2. Amount of time the developer has available for your project.
3. Hiring a developer with the right skill set for your project.
4. The developers work habits – what good does it do to get a great site, if it’s impossible to maintain later
5. Matching your style with the developer’s style
Finding Web Developers to Interview
1. Make a list of ten sites that you like. Find 5 sites in your industry and 5 sites that have features you need on your site, which aren’t in your industry. Record the addresses of those sites with a comment about why you chose that site.
2. Ask your business acquaintances for web developer recommendations. Ask them why they recommended that person or company. Ask them about costs and communications.
3. Ask your business acquaintances for web development horror stories. Find out specifically why it was a bad experience. Your situation may be entirely different, but the information will help you understand what can go wrong.
4. Based on these recommendations (and other services you may find out about,) call at least 5 developers and ask about their availability. It doesn’t matter how good they are, if they can’t fit you in, they can’t fit you in.
5. Set up meetings with the developers to discuss your project. You may need to pay for their time because, if they are any good, they will be giving you some expert advice as part of the discussion. Everything you learn now, will make the project cheaper later.
6. If a developer tells you that more planning needs to be done, you are probably speaking to a good developer.
Check off list for your Interviews
Here are some of the things that should be included in your conversations: These aren’t black and white questions. They are designed to help you get a well-rounded picture of each potential developer. There probably isn’t a developer out there who will be perfect for you in each item. For example, in projects that require high quality graphics, I recommend that prospective clients hire a graphic designer for that part of a website, because I don’t have graphic design training and abilities.
1. Explain your project to the potential developer. As part of the process, show the developer the sites you chose from the previous section and your thoughts.
2. Ask the developer how he would go about building such a site with that information.
3. Did the developer give you plain English explanations to support the suggestions?
4. Did the developer spend a lot of time asking you about your needs, listening carefully and making suggestions?
5. Make a list of the skills and experience the developer has, including what software packages she would use to develop your site.
6. Is there a match between the skills of the developer and your website needs?
7. Find out whether your developer is available for a long term business relationship.
8. Will it be easy to find someone else who knows those software packages, should that developer become unavailable later on (you will have to verify this by asking others?)
9. What pricing system does the developer use?
10. Do the sites the developer has previously created match your style and needs?
11. What types of responses did you receive from the developer’s references?
If you are new to these topics, be extra careful. Each of these topics is a potential breaking point for your project. Look for a developer who will take the time to help you understand the topic. Each of these questions will be discussed further in future articles.
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