Explore the planning and design phase of creating a user-focused site. This course covers the steps to take before you start building, including defining the purpose and audience; outlining the structure and navigation; and designing the look and feel. In this class, you will create a detailed plan for your site.

• Students should have a basic knowledge of the Web and browsers
• Participants should be proficient with navigating to folders and files; opening, saving and closing files; and using menus, toolbars and dialog boxes

Establish the purpose and goals of the website.

• Write a mission statement for the website
• Develop measurable website goals
• Compare the strengths and weaknesses of competitor websites

Identify the characteristics and needs of the website’s audience.

• Identify the relevant demographic and psychographic characteristics of the website’s audience
• Describe the computer and networking technology used by the website’s audience
• Identify what the audience needs from the website

Create a site architecture diagram that describes the website’s information flow.

• Identify and organize the main topics of the website
• Create the site structure that best maps the information flow

Develop a navigation plan for the website.

• Create a navigation system for the website
• Apply user-friendly navigation labels
• Identify a method to let users know where they are within the site

Write the design specification for the website.

• Create a wireframe diagram showing the layout of the webpages
• Identify fonts that work well on webpages
• Select an appropriate color scheme for the website
• Determine the graphics and multimedia to be used on the website 

Determine the publishing environment for the website.

• Select an appropriate domain name
• Select a web hosting service