Preparing for your Website Projectand beyond
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Goal
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Prompt conversations and questions that will improve your website.
Typical website project:
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Bid Develop Implement
Repeat in five to ten years.
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This is an (often missed) opportunity period.
Why is a website so important?
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It’s your front door.
Do you need a new website?
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Evaluating your current site• Ease of doing common tasks• Staff perception• Customer expectations • Surveys• Feedback
• Similar Organizations
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It’s just time to do it• Gut feeling*• Peer Pressure*• Political Pressure*
*Make sure that if you are making a decision based on these that you still make sure to evaluate the shortcomings of the current site based on the previous criteria.
So do you need a new website?
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No matter your answeryour preparation should be the same.
Listen!Both Customers and Staff
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Make sure your information matches what your customers need.
• Call logs high items• In demand processes• Customer surveys
What should they be able to do without calling you?
In order to do this easily, staff should buy in.
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First, Develop working Teams.
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Web Team• Sets the strategy for standard content on the site• Engages a broad array of departments and staff• Takes advantage of staff enthusiasm within own areas• Expected to be ongoing
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Direction Team• Makes decisions during development process• Made up of persons who have a vested interest in success
of project• Often handles design decisions and other strategic
concerns that do not affect content• Function is directly related to project process and team is
more ad-hoc• Not necessary, could be a portion of the web team or
web team itself can fulfill this role if trust in organization exists
Second, Build a culture of information
ownership.
Technology is no longer an impediment – let staff lead through what they know.
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It’s not a project.
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Ensuring staff buy, knowing your customers, and knowing what reasons brought you to a new website project will
enable you to not only have a successful website projects, but keep it as an ongoing vehicle for your organization’s
success.