Conducting Successful Website Redesign (Part 5 of 5)

Written by: Frank Iacono

In part four of Conducting Successful Website Redesign I talked about Step 4: Build and Integrate which included three key phases: The Planning, The Building and Integration, and The Testing. After completing Step 4, you should have designed, developed, and implemented the Website. This, the fifth part in the series, will focus on Step 5: Site Launch and Maintenance.

Step 5: Site Launch and Maintenance includes three key phases: The Delivery, The Launch and Integration, and The Maintenance.

• The Delivery
• Complete the Production Style Guide
• Create Handoff Packet (Instructions to Implement Site)
• Create Tracking Documentation
• Conduct Pre and Post Launch Meeting
• Establish Maintenance Schedule
• The Launch and Integration
• Develop Communication Plan
• Establish Communication Vehicles
• Ensure Site is Optimized for Search Engines
• Get Final Approval on Redesign
• Launch the Website into Production
• The Maintenance
• Develop Maintenance Plan
• Establish Internal Maintenance Teams
• Assess Maintenance Team Capabilities
• Confirm Site Security
• Plan for Interactive Initiatives to Market Website
• Benchmark Site Analytics for Empirical Data
• Measure Redesign Success
• Optimize Site Moving Forward

When you’ve completed Step 5, you will have launched the website and developed a maintenance plan. Measure the results and continuously optimize the website to reach your established business goals. Share with me your web-based projects.

Conducting Successful Website Redesign (Part 2 of 5)

Written by: Frank Iacono

In part one of Conducting Successful Website Redesign I talked about Step 1: Define the Project which included three key phases: The Discovery, The Planning, and The Clarification. After completing Step 1, you should be prepared to officially kick off the web-based project.  This, the second part in the series, will focus on Step 2: Develop Site Structure.   

Step 2: Develop Site Structure includes four key phases: The Content View, The Site-View, The Page-View, and The User-View.

• Content View
  • Address and Organize Content
  • Audit Existing Content
  • Outline Content
  • Create a Content Delivery Plan
• Site-View
  • Address Current Site Organization
  • Map Out Proposed Site Structure
  • Set Naming Conventions
• Page-View
  • Wireframe Page View
  • Address Navigation
  • Address File Naming and Labeling
• User-View
  • Define Key User Paths
  • Develop HTML Prototype from Wireframe
  • Create User Scenarios

When you’ve completed Step 2, you will have identified the website structure. 

 Next Time:

In Part 3, we will focus on Step 3 within the website redesign process flow: Design Visual Interface.

Conducting Successful Website Redesign (Part 1 of 5)

Written by: Frank Iacono

Website design, whether starting from scratch or redesigning an existing site it is all about two essential things: planning and organization. During the process it is important to think about long-term objectives but remain focused on short-term gains while never losing sight of the end-user: Your Customers and Your Prospects.

The strategy you develop for the website redesign project should be simply defined as a path to bridge the gap between today’s current state and the future vision. To get there you need to clearly lay out an organized plan.

In this five-part series we will look at the following five-step core process flow for successful website redesign:

1. Define the Project
2. Develop the Site Structure
3. Design Visual Interface
4. Build and Integrate
5. Site Launch and Maintenance

In today’s blog, we will focus on Step 1: Define the Project.

Step 1: Define the Project includes three key phases: The Discovery Phase, The Planning Phase, and The Clarification Phase.

• Discovery Phase
  • Gather Site Information
  • Understand the Audience (through site user surveys)
  • Identify Audience’s Technical Capabilities
  • Identify Backend Programming Needs
  • Analyze the Industry
  • Develop Functional Requirements
• Planning Phase
  • Create Project Plan
  • Set Project Budget
  • Track Project Time
  • Create Project Schedules
  • Assign Project Team
  • Set-up Development and Staging Areas for Testing
  • Plan for User Testing
• Clarification Phase
  • Determining Overall Goals
  • Preparing a Communication Brief

When you’ve completed Step 1: Define the Project, you will be prepared to officially kick off the web-based project.

Next Time:

In Part 2, we will focus on Step 2: Develop the Site Structure within the website redesign process flow.

Is Your Organization Employing Best Practices for Online Donation?

Written by: Frank Iacono

While every non-profit organization has a different mission and approach to fundraising, those who achieve the greatest amount of success from their web-based donation programs typically employ best practices.

Below, please find the top 6 best practices that all non-profit organizations should utilize when creating an online donation form:

1. Maintain Consistent Branding. To provide a higher level of confidence in the donor clearly brand all forms with your organization’s specific web look and feel.
2. Remove Extraneous Navigation. To lower abandonment rates and increase web form donations remove all unnecessary links.
3. Create a Clear and Concise Form. To help donors complete the web form as quickly and easily as possible provide both clear and meaningful labels for all fields, making obvious which fields are required and which are optional.
4. Pre-populate Form Fields. To increase the speed of form completion and reduce the chances of typographical errors pre-populate the web form fields with information when the donor is already in your database.
5. Provide Pre-set Dollar Amounts. To encourage higher giving levels suggest donation amounts and provide multiple ways for donors to support your organization.
6. Add Email Auto-Responders. To reinforce the donor’s affinity with your organization send out an immediate email follow-up once the donation has been completed.

In order to be successful with your online donation program, you will need to conduct some upfront research and analysis to determine what works best with your audience.  Depending upon what your marketing strategy is and/or becomes this may or may not be a huge undertaking for your organization but it will truly demand that you truly understand online fundraising principles.