31189a – Learning Activity 01

Hot Pottery

James has a small jewellery business and a simple website to promote it. He also sells pottery at a local market and has decided he would like a separate site to promote the pottery online as well.

The website would be called Hot Pottery and does not have to link in any way to the existing jewellery site.

You have emailed him some roughs and are just waiting for James to approve. You then discover:

• Sue, James’ wife, actually makes the pottery and does not always agree with James.

• Sue feels the new design misses the mark for the target audience; she would prefer an earthy, classic feel.

• James set up the original jewellery site and feels the pottery site should just use the same Word Press template.

• James has just asked if you could plug-in an eCommerce component as “it’s crazy not to allow people to buy online”.

List five things that could have been done to avoid these complications. List ten key questions that could have been used at the initial interview with James to get information that is more accurate.

Answer

According to Luke Reimer[1] in Smashing Magazine, the web design process has five main steps:

1.      Planning: Knowing what the client’s requirements are; drawing up a project charter (or similar document) to ensure everyone agrees upon the same things; draw up a site plan or map; draw up a contract (which is legally binding); gain access to servers and build folder structure; and determine required software and resources.

2.     Designing: Make a wire frame and plan design elements; design a mock-up in Photoshop or Illustrator (and organise your prototype into layers as you do so); get the client to review/approve site and/or make any necessary changes based on their feedback.

3.     Develop the web content: Build a development framework or contents management system, create/code templates for each page type (e.g. Home page, general content, blogs, forms etc); develop and test for features and user interactivity (particularly for static objects); fill with content (the client or writer will usually do this); and test and verify links and functionality.

4.     Launch the website for public viewing: this involves polishing up the site and testing for user interactivity beforehand, and then moving it to a permanent web server.  You also need to run the website through the following things: code validators, broken link checkers, website health checks, spell-checker etc; before finally testing it across different kinds of browsers.

5.     Perform post-launch checks: ensure that both parties meet all the contractual obligations; that the client is happy with what you have done for them; and that you close the deal without any ‘burned-bridges’.  Do follow-up checks very now and then to ensure the client is still satisfied.

Ten questions I am likely to ask (in the beginning) would include:

1.      What do you want as the domain name?

2.      What is the purpose of the site?  Is it a blog, e-commerce site, portfolio site, etc?

3.      What are the desired outcomes of the site?  Social networking?  Sales?  Blogging?

4.      What kinds of people make up the target audience of the site?

5.      What web design software do you want me to use? 

6.      If it is a DIY site, what online tools would you use or have me use?

7.  How many pages and/or components (i.e. widgets and other elements) shall I include?  Examples would include forms like contact forms, order forms, booking forms; videos; web banners; click-on things like drop-down menus and navigation; and accordions or tabs to reveal hidden information.

8.      What colour schemes, fonts, and layouts would you like to see?

9.      For how long do you plan to have the site up?

10.  Would you like follow-up service after the design is finished?

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[1] Reimer, L (2011): Following a Web Design Process; https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/06/following-a-web-design-process/