Web strategy: Setting up
Information architecture
Good information architecture is the backbone of all good websites. It is the process of designing how the content and information will be arranged and stored.
People don’t ‘read’ websites in a linear way as they do with other media; think about your own experiences on the web. You usually know exactly what information you are looking for and just want to find it fast; or you are browsing - jumping all over the site following any links or headlines that catch your eye and spark your interest.
Information architecture is the way to make sure that people can find what they want, or be guided to what you want them to look at, without having to think too hard.
Next stepDesign
First impressions last. The interface or design of your website is the first thing users will notice, so this is your big opportunity to make an impact.
Beyond the aesthetics of this, design dictates how information is displayed, an important factor in the usability of your site, that is, whether users can find or do what they want easily.
The design of your website should be modern and professional to instil confidence in your products, services or cause. It should be a visual reflection of your brand values, whilst maintaining relevance to your target audience.
Next stepContent
Web audiences are unique in the way they consume information, so your content (the words and messages on your website) needs to be custom-written for them.
This means short and to the point, with plenty of calls-to-action that lead users to what they can do on your site. As well as text, your content might also include images, sound and video, depending on your audience and business.
The pages of your website should only contain small chunks of highly relevant and concise information, and text should not extend past what can be seen on the screen without scrolling down. There are exceptions to this, like articles and blogs which can be longer, and there are times that you need to provide larger chunks of text. One option in this case is to provide downloadable PDFs or jump down links to sections.
Next stepFunctionality and features
Functionality and features are what allows your audience to interact with you, rather than just read about you.
Customised applications and special functionality allows you to harness anything from simple forms and surveys to E-Commerce tools that allow customers to transact online as they would in person or cool interactive features that engage your target audience and keep them coming back.
Special applications can also be used in storing, collecting and displaying large amounts of complex information through databases and directories, so that your users find what they are after or enter their own details in no time at all.
Next stepContent Management System
These days, most websites are built within a Content Management System, allowing you to update content, images and pages yourself without needing to know any programming language. This means you don’t need to rely on your web developer to update content, so you can do it quickly, cheaply and most important, regularly!
Captovate uses ‘open source’ (free) Content Management Systems, which not only save time and money, but effectively give you a community of thousands of developers worldwide working to make your site infrastructure faster, more secure and feature rich.
You only ever need to work with the CMS interface to make changes to your website, which is as easy to use as Microsoft Word, but underneath is a complex and powerful database managing and controlling all your content so that it remains consistent across the whole site whenever you update. Your CMS can also do cool things like auto-archive old items, so your site always looks tidy and well-maintained.
You need professional help to set up your new website in a Content Management System (or to move your existing site into one) and to customise it to your exact needs; but once it’s there you’re in control!
Next stepImages
The images displayed on your website should strongly reflect your brand and product, and should aim to connect with or relate to your target audience in some way – remember a picture tells a thousand words! Your images need to be ‘alt tagged’ not only for accessibility, but also so they can be found by search engines; and they need to be optimised to the right size for quick loading speed.
