So You Want a Web Site, Now What?

ICIR is here to serve as your Chief Information Officer or in partnership with your CIO - helping you establish and maintain your Internet presence, manage the changes precipitated by interactive technology and the communication requirements formulated in the process. ICIR is committed and dedicated to your success. We have the expertise to provide you with strategic, creative and technical services combined with the ability to create an online business strategy that encompasses your company's target market as well as the skill to integrate this new technology throughout your organization.

We take a consulting model approach based on educating the client while integrating this communications medium into an organization. Most work can be accomplished over the phone and through e-mail. Preplanning will increase overall organization and productivity.

If your goal is to recreate a "brochure" in an electronic format with a database for your Web presence, we can assist you with this initially. However, there is so much more that can be done, and this does not mean it has to be expensive. Knowledge of your budget allows us to tailor your investment to a development strategy that meets your needs. ICIR is your organization's Internet services department - providing you with the experience, expertise and understanding required to integrate information and communications technology bringing the greatest return on your investment.

It saves the client time and money to use professional Internet and World Wide Web talent. We specialize in bringing ideas into reality and guiding your organization into this changing era where the most effective use of information technology will play a major role in the success or failure of a business.

In the spirit of creating understanding of the task at hand and completing the job on time and budget, we formed the following list of questions, ideas, topics and comments. This will help you get started in formulating the ideas, strategies and plans to guarantee successful utilization of your Internet presence.

	The Web is a unique, three-dimensional, non-linear form of communication grounded on information that includes aspects of total quality management and just-in-time delivery systems. Its nature is immediately interactive and not simply another advertising medium along side print, TV, radio, billboards etc. Vocabulary borrowed from other traditional media is limiting our ability to fully understand and utilize the ultimate potential of the Web as an entirely new and unique form of communication. While we may use some of the old vocabulary to facilitate our communication process, it is important to transition our thoughts into an expansion of ideas by using less limiting terms. The following is a short list of "new" verses "old" vocabulary that can help us make this transition: Storefront or Gateway -vs- Home Page Venue -vs- Site Event -vs- Page Participant -vs- User Conduits or Channels -vs- Destinations
	The Web offers an opportunity to transform a company into a new type of organization, enabling it to be more responsive to customers' needs and market changes. An example of this is providing direct communication and immediate feedback with clients, suppliers and distributors. In the growing knowledge economy, the companies that quickly and efficiently recognize, collect, store and distribute their knowledge assets throughout the organization will triumph.
	Do you already know what you want to do with this new medium? Can you make a written list of needs, ideas, goals and plans? If so, this is a great place to start. Can you also come up with a budget at this point?
	While setting a budget, it is important to look at the cost of building and utilizing one's Internet presence as an investment rather than an expense. Compare this to the cost of constructing an actual building; keep in mind that a virtual storefront is open 24 hours a day and provides your global clientele quick and easy access to your organization. The rapid change of technology creates a wider range of utilities, options and services, and this trend will continue to accelerate. When planning for development, we often need to be able to set priorities and make decisions based on a budgetary "trade-off" as to the "best" method versus the least expensive method. Consequently, it's best to set a defined budget with a high and low range of affordability, which makes it an easier and less time-consuming process. For instance, when creating a new section or area within the Web venue, we have to decide on a term to describe this section. As an example of necessity for a budget, when posting information about staff members of your organization, we might come up with three categories: "Personnel," "About" and "News & Info." Each one of these could be their own section or we can try to put all information into one section to save on the budget. Examples of information that might fall into this category are: news articles and press releases, human resources, staff contacts, new projects and/or how your organization does business.
	Internet users within the company should be made partners in the process. At the same time, they should be encouraged to learn and utilize the potential of this new medium. Among other benefits, well-trained and informed employees are an asset to your organization because they are less apprehensive and more enthusiastic about using this new technology.
	How are people within your organization going to learn to use this new technology? It is good business to give someone software to use and to then give them the time and instruction required to become proficient. Perhaps you have the ability to teach people the basics of using Internet software but do not have the time. Remember that in addition to the actual teaching time, a successful training course also requires the instructor to gather materials, to prepare for the class and to continually stay abreast of any new developments in this ever-changing industry.
	Proven successful with other organizations, is that we coordinate a team from different parts of the company that devote part of their time to online interactive projects. We meet regularly to gather information on off-line activities and translate it into interactive media. We also constantly check on competition in cyberspace, keep up with technologies and generally think a lot about what your enterprise wants to accomplish in concert with your current business plan and strategy. With this approach, at least fifty-percent of the ideas for the Web venue can come from within your organization.
	Proper Internet development requires time, competence and experience. Nationwide, the information technology industry is experiencing a shortage of qualified, skilled and competent workers to meet the demand. People with higher skill levels command a higher hourly rate. Companies are finding they may pay a lower price or hourly rate but have to spend more time dealing with a project to get the job done correctly, thereby spending more in time than what is saved in hourly fees. When looking at costs, make certain you compare apples to apples. Some companies may charge little money for development but charge more for hosting, maintenance and amount of traffic that is sometimes referred to as "download".
	Be aware of how much time can be spent dealing with the basic design and development issues of a new redesigned site. You want to avoid wondering how much more the quote would have been if the developers had known and included what it really cost to get the job done correctly. You may not be charged money for their learning curve but you will pay for it with your time. Many problems can arise later when wanting to add to the Web venue if not enough foresight is applied in formulating a design strategy. This requires time and cumulative knowledge to find solutions. When designing or redesigning a site the goal is to develop it in a way that it is scaleable and easily expandable without additional large-scale overhauls. A properly designed and executed navigational system is a major element in accomplishing this. A well-designed navigational tool or graphic combined with a good understanding of organizing information will facilitate this process. If the organization and navigability of the site is poorly executed and confusing, it will irritate people and "encourage" them to leave and never come back. In a well-designed site, a visitor should be only two, or three clicks away at most, from any other part of the site without having to use the back button. Overuse of the back button in order to navigate a site is confusing, inefficient and will interfere with the navigation history of the Web browser.
	Not all Web developers are created equally. There's a saying that genius is the ability to avoid expenses by doing it right the first time. Companies skilled at one element of computer technology are not necessarily a good choice for overall Web design, development and presence. Database programmers may build fast databases but build poorly designed and unattractive Web sites. Graphic designers coming from an advertising or print background may design a beautiful Web site but it will take forever to download. The best Web developers are people with good programming skills, a talent for art and design combined with the organizational knowledge of a librarian.