Providing bookkeeping & payroll services, typesetting and website & database design since 1990.
http://www.jolanders.com
Website Project Profiler
Website Project Profiler
This project profiler helps clients focus their needs and determine the scope of the project, and provides a checklist for the various issues that need to be addressed to create a successful website.
Once the profiler is complete, a contractor can use it as the basis for determining whether or not they can meet the needs of the project, and to begin developing budgets and schedules.
The project profiler includes the following sections:
- Company & Project Information
- Project Goals
- Target Audience
- Design and Style
- Content Development
- Programming Requirements
- Site Updates & Maintenance
- Site Visibility/Promotion
Company & Project Information
Company Information
Your Name, Telephone & Email address:
Company Name & Address:
Describe your products or services:
List any URL's currently registered:
Project Information
Is this a new site or redesign of an existing site?
What is the budget for this project? Depending on the scope of services to be provided, is there an acceptable budget range?
What is the timeline? Are there specific scheduling requirements?
Describe any work that has been done toward designing/redesigning a new web site.
Describe any identity/branding assets (logos, other artwork, and fonts) or issues.
Provide contact information for the person responsible for these areas:
- Overall Site Structure and Navigation
- Overall Graphic Design and Layout (logos, photography, color palette, font selection, etc.)
- Content (if different people are responsible for different sections of the site, please provide contact information for each person and the section they are responsible for)
- Testing, Approval and Decision Making as the site is developed
- Budget Review and Payment
Project Goals
What is the mission statement, summary or basic goals of your project?
Please rank the following in order of importance:
- Marketing
- Enhance professional image through profiles, portfolio, and general description of the company and its goods or services
- Increase public awareness of the company name, brand name or identity
- Advertising & Sales
- Expand on existing advertising in print, radio, TV, etc.
- Direct sales to the general public
- Business to business sales or lead generation
- Link and affiliate programs
- Customer Support
- Provide product specifications and manuals, troubleshooting guides, etc. to the general public
- Provide product or service information to distributers
- Informational/Online Community
- Single-user - Blogging, online journals, etc.
- Multi-user - Forums and discussion
- DIY, hobby or special interest site
- News, articles or other archived, searchable materials
- Internal
- Allow staff to access various databases and reports
- Allow staff to input new information into various databases
- Provide employee training or reference materials
Development
Please rank the following in order of importance:
- Repurpose existing content
- Provide new information not previously available
- Quality execution (graphics, writing, navigation, search capabilities, etc.)
- Create a community of repeat visitors or people who bookmark the site because they use it so frequently
- Easily update and maintain the site in-house
- Organic search engine optimization
- Staying within budget
- Short time to completion
Project Success:
Please list specific outcomes you would like to achieve as a result of this project (increase traffic by xxx% over old site, be found under the following search terms, reduce catalog or other mailings by xxx%, etc.) and the timeframe these should happen in.
Target Audience
Please rank the following in order of importance:
Geography
- Local community
- National
- International
Users
- Children
- Teens
- General population
- Business to business
- In-house only
What types of visitors do you want to attract?
What are your goals for each type of visitor? What are the products/services involved?
What are your goals for these products/services?
Special Requirements
Does your audience have any special requirements the site design needs to address (multi-language, sight or mobility impaired, most users will have slow connections, etc.)? Please describe:
Design and Style
If the site will mimic the look and feel of existing printed materials (fonts, colors, etc.), please include samples. If design comps exist (for example in InDesign, PhotoShop or Illustrator), please include pdfs of the proposed site design and layout.
List the URL's of at least three websites you like that serve a similar purpose or appeal to a similar audience. Describe what you like about them and why (size of site, functionality, features, how often it is updated, etc.). If the site belongs to a direct competitor, pay special attention to what they do well and describe how you plan to handle the same thing on your site.
List other sites you like and describe why (navigation style and location, fonts, colors, layout, etc.), whether or not they serve a similar purpose.
List a few sites you don’t like and why (too little content, no easy way to contact the company, distracting advertising or background images, etc.).
Content Development
If this is a new site:
- Please attach an outline listing the major sections and proposed subpages with a brief description of each.
- If content has been developed, please provide electronic text files and images and reference the appropriate file names in your outline.
- If this site will repurpose existing print materials, please provide sample copies of the printed material.
If this is a redesign of an existing site:
- Please provide the site url
- Provide information about new content, features or functionality to be added.
- Describe any existing features you want to keep but which are not working the way they should (for example, order form does not add sales tax, drop-down menus are difficult to use, etc.)
If the site is (or will be) database-driven
- What types of legacy systems/databases are in place?
- What content management system will be used? WordPress, another CMS, or a custom CMS?
- What database format will be used (mySql, filemaker, etc)?
- If converting from one content management system to another, will the data conversion/import be performed by the client, or by the programmer?
- If a database does not already exist, who will be responsible for creating it and entering existing data?
- Will the database be used to load page content only? Or will it also provide custom reports or other information requiring a public user interface and administrative back-end?
Multimedia
- If the site includes animation, will the programmer need to convert/prepare files for use online?
- If the site includes audio or video, will the programmer need to convert/prepare files for use online?
Programming Requirements
What functional requirements are needed?
- E-commerce
- Contact or other forms
- Calendars/Event listings
- Galleries
- Internal search
- Download areas
- Communication/shared data with other sites
- Other (describe)
Are there in-house issues the site needs to address (provide WYSIWYG editors, restrict staff access to various areas, etc.)?
Are there public user issues the site needs to address (create secure areas requiring login, form validation, etc.)?
Are there other technical issues or limitations?
How will the site be served/hosted?
What is your long-term plan for the site?
Site Updates & Maintenance
Site Updates:
How often will the site be updated?
What is the budget for ongoing updates?
Who will provide content updates?
- The programmer (list expected frequency/extent of updates)
- In-house staff (please describe level of expertise and software or CMS packages to be used)
- Members of the public (discussion groups, forums, online communities, etc.)
Site Maintenance:
What is the budget for ongoing maintenance and support?
Who will provide programming or CMS software updates?
- The programmer
- The client
- Unknown
Site Visibility/Promotion
What is the budget for site promotion?
Please list up to 10 of the most important search words or 2-3 word phrases you plan on targeting.
How will people find your site? Please rank the following in order of importance:
- Organic search results
- Paid search engine placement
- Listings on other sites (chamber of commerce, trade associations, etc.) - please describe:
- Direct mail- please include frequency and mailing list size:
- In conjunction with other advertising (Yellow Pages, print or radio, etc.) - please describe:
- Other (describe):