IQue - Our Twist on the Web

At a developer conference this week, Microsoft announced it would be releasing a cloud computing service alongside its forthcoming operating system, Windows 7. Cloud computing is a broad term that describes software and services made available on the Internet instead of on local computers and servers.

Examples of current cloud applications are the various Google Apps like Google Docs, where word processor and spreadsheet applications are not installed on a local computer, but rather exist as a service accessed online. One of the benefits of cloud applications is that, because they exist online as opposed to on a single computer or network, they can be accessed from any computer. Also, because the services exist across a number of servers, there is great reliability, as well as the capability to handle spikes in online traffic.

The Windows announcement is a clear response to companies like Google and Amazon.com, an early pioneer in commercial cloud services. While Microsoft certainly has the resources to commit data centers to these services, it remains to be seen how they will fare in this newest stage of computing.

Once your point person is in place, initial planning for a website begins with inventorying and mapping out the content that will go into its population. Organize your content into 4 primary sections.

It’s always a good starting point to gather and evaluate all of your companies current marketing material. This gives you many areas to build upon and will usually let you know who was responsible for what. You will also be forced to revisit topics such as vision statements, demographic studies, focus group tests (for products) and any other areas of marketing that may need updating.

Once you’ve taken inventory and established your sites initial focus, you need to think about what your main sections are going to be and branch out from there. Your main sections are your main topics to write about. Even if you start with a paragraph per section, that’s better than nothing and a great foundation to build on. It will undoubtedly spark other ideas and needs. Also, having a grasp on content per section/page, will help make decisions on development technologies needed along with specific pieces of functionality to present it.

Now, let’s start to put our initial flow chart together. Notice I said initial, as it will evolve and always be considered a work  in progress. You can use programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, Excel, Word, Visio or OminGraffle to set your charts up. I usually like to sketch things down on graph paper first and then fill in the details with Photoshop or Illustrator. But, that’s just me.

Always, always, always start with your Home page! After all, this is usually where your domain is initially going to go. Think of it as your reception area that is going to be guiding potential customers wherever they need to be. This must be aesthetically pleasing, easy to evaluate, strategic and straight to the point.

As you’re creating your flow chart, compile lists of topics for each page. These will usually help determine your overall  navigation structure and play an integral role in developing your sites usability. This is also when you would start to tentatively assign individual or group tasks as well. It’s important to know who is going to be responsible in helping you gather the sites’ information and whether or not you need to hire more staff.

At this point, you just need to continue with the process until you have the initial phase of your content map (flow chart) layed out, tons of topic ideas/content blocks written and most of your navigation planned out. And, be sure to always keep your sites’ focus in mind. Meaning, don’t do sections/pages just to do them. Keep things simple and try to get a potential customer to your end result goal as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Keep going through this process over and over again until you feel like an effective content map, with documentation, has been written and ready to be evaluated by a web developer(s).

When it comes to the planning and development of websites or online software applications, content is usually the #1 culprit for slowing the process down or even hindering a launch date.

Planning an online project is very different than most mainstreams of marketing and advertising. It is much more dynamic and, in most cases, requires someone to be solely dedicated to it’s organization and maintenance. However, most companies just try to pawn off the content responsibilities to someone currently on staff who already has a full work load. Then, 9 times out of 10, once that person is able to get something launched it will often lanquish and become obsolete fast. This is where we come in to educate and aid our clients in proper planning and maintenance of a project. One of the most critical stages of a project is in the initial planning phases.

Developing an effective content management model means the implementation of many internal systems that all need to work together. An inventory of information must be taken to see what is currently available and whether or not new pieces of content need to be written. Maps need to be put into place to show a logistical flow throughout the application from section to section and internal employees need to be assigned groups of tasks in order to reach the end result and launch day. It’s a very collaborative effort.

Content will also play a huge role in developing a sites’ usability. Not only do we need to know how the application is going to flow logistically, but how are things going to be organized and presented from page to page, section to section. You need to make sure that your customers have direct access to all pieces of information with a minimal amount of work. Because, they will expect it and it will establish your companies credibility immediately.

I will be posting a series of articles that provide many of the concepts and ideas behind creating an effective information architecture. So, until my next post, ask yourself…

What goals do I expect to accomplish with my website? How do I get there?