It seems like just about every business out there is putting up a Web site these days. If you haven't got one yet, or if you've already got one and aren't really maybe satisfied with it, then you should take a look at the five basic steps that it takes to put a great Web site up.
The only reason you want to put up a Web site for your business is because it helps you meet a strategic objective. It should either help you:
[1] Define YOUR Credit Union's Business Strategic Goals and Objectives[2] Design the Web Site[3] Develop and Build the Web Site[4] Go Public to your Membership and Deploy the Web Site[5] Do It Over - Continuously Up-Date and Improve Your Web Site[1] Define YOUR Credit Union's Business Strategic Goals and Objectives[A] Select and Form Your Core Internet Team for coordinating and managing your Master Internet Implementation Action Plan Project.
[B] Set up your organization's Strategic Focus (existing purpose or mission) and introduce your Internet Team to how you could use the Internet as a strategic and tactical tool to enhance the ability of your organization to achieve it's mission.
[C] Assign "Internet Awareness Building" Project Preparation Actions.
[D] Use your Internet Team to brainstorm, develop and define your businesses Web/Internet Presence Vision, Goals and Objectives. Consider accomplishing this process at a one or two day offsite retreat with a professional facilitator who is familiar with the Internet. Start by consideingr four things:
[A] Pick tools that work with the strength of the medium. Consider Web links, mailing lists, information sharing methods, forms, surveys, and other things that you"ve noticed when browsing the Web.
[B] Spend some time looking at other sites to determine what kinds of things you like.
[C] Design your site from the outside in. Ask yourself:
[D] Design your site from the inside out as well. Think about who you are and what you do, and what your products and services are. What features do they have? What benefits do they provide?
[E] Build a High Level Site Map -- We've found mind mapping can be an especially powerful tool for both of the above analysis functions. With mind mapping you connect concepts and ideas on paper in the same way that you do in your head.
This is where your Internet/Web Presence is created and brought online. You can have us carry out the implementation, or you can have us act as project managers or advisors or reviewers to your internal staff or team.
Here artwork and copy is generated, Web pages are created, online documents are produced, accounts and domains are set up, pages and other files are loaded onto Internet servers, and everything is tested.
Here is a brief high level overview of the basic steps we have found that a Web Site Development Process will include: [A] Assemble a Design Team. We suggest the team consist of a: [B] Decide what are the initial objectives you want to accomplish with your Web Presence and then conduct a brainstorming session to build a bulletized list of the content that communicates your companies marketing message and that you want on your Web Pages.
[C] Create a Web site page map using story boarding, flowcharts which show the content, function, links, and approximate lay-out of all the components of your Web site pages.
[D] Create the art and graphics for the Web page layout
[E] Convert the content, art, etc. to HTML and connect to the Net through a Web/Internet Server
Begin your site development by developing a mock site. A mock site is a Web site that you develop on your own computer, not on the Net. That let's you work out the information, links, proofreading, and other issues before you take it live.
[F] TEST1 TEST1 TEST1 When you've developed a good site on your own computer, put it on the Web for a Beta test.
To Five Key Steps Overview
[2] Design the Web SiteThis isn't writing the code for the pages, it's determining what information and other factors are going to be there and how they're going to be linked.
To Five Key Steps Overview
[3] Develop and Build the Web Site
To Five Key Steps Overview
[4] Go Public to your Membership and Deploy the Web SiteThis step can be easily accomplished by developing and implemeningt a Marketing Roll Out Plan that publicizes your site by achieving three primary objectives. These objectives are:
[A] Publicize your site online by registering your Web site in search engines and Internet directories and setting up appropriate links to and from other related Web sites
[B] Modify your printed materials so that your URL appears on your brochures, business cards, in your advertisements, and any other materials so that you can publicize the site off-line through advertising in trade journals, TV, radio, articles, literature, event handouts, networking and sales calls.
[C] Develop a training and educational curriculum to get your people up to speed, especially your customer service and sales folks who may get questions about the Web site so that they know how to introduce your new tool to your clients, prospects, and friends in a way that is in alignment with your Strategic Marketing Plan
[5] Do It Over - Continuously Up-Date and Improve Your Web SiteThe process of putting up a great Web site is fairly simple. But there are lots of little steps and you do need to pay attention.
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