The more time and effort devoted to this information gathering process,
the more effective your web presence will be.

DHP - Design Host Promote

DHP1. The name of my company and my intended [or current] URL [domain name]?
[Ex: Kelleen Group of Companies, LLC / Design Host Promote / DesignHostPromote.com]

DHP2. The name/title and contact information of my person responsible website content?
[Ex: Kelleen Guyer, Founder, 25 Potter Street, Patchogue, NY 11772, 631-365-1589, info@DesignHostPromote.com]

DHP3. The contact information to appear on my website?
[Ex: Snail Mail: 25 Potter Street, Patchogue, NY 11772, Cell: 631-365-1589, Email: info@DesignHostPromote.com]

DHP4. The purpose of my website? [Ex: “web presence made easy”]

DHP5. The goal of my website - long and short term based on my industry? - Mission Statement
[Ex: To satisfy my desire to take my design skills from a corporate level to local businesses that will benefit community]

DHP6. My type of business?
[Ex: Interactive agency offering web design, development, hosting, search engine optimization and marketing]

DHP7. Target Audience? Define and identify, then list interests and special issues for each audience group.
[Ex: Small to medium local business: depending on local customers and wants to grow through web presence]

DHP8. Competitive Analysis: websites of my competitors? URL & comments such as functional features, technologies used, look-and-feel, and which of these elements your site should match, exceed, or avoid.

DHP9. Content Functionality. Which functional features should your site offer? Consider: ecommerce/shopping cart, site search, customer service/support, tech support, discussion forums, blog, newsletter, catalog/information order forms, feedback form, member logon, password protected areas, and SSL-encrypted areas. Describe functional feature and what it will do?

DHP10. Deadlines. What are your deadline requirements?

DHP11. Budget. What is your budget?

D - Design

D1. Websites that I like with respect to design, colors and layout? Include color scheme and font preferred.
[Ex: DesignHostPromote.com, Kelleen.com, CasinoCafeFireIsland.com, blues, greens, cool colors, font - san serif]

D2. Use some adjectives to describe how the user should perceive your site?
[Ex: Friendly, Fun, Interesting, Bells and Whistles, Neat & Simple, Creative, Corporate]

D3. Menu for my website? Navigation?
A. Main Links:
[Ex: Home, About Us, Contact Us, Support, Catalog, Products, Site Map, Copyright, Privacy Statement, etc.]

Tips:
• Usability of a site is one of the most important elements of good design, I recommend the left hand side or top area of the page, and it should remain consistent across the website, with a Home Link on every page, no acceptations
• Links in general should be text, if linking to an external website let visitors know they are leaving the site. If you choose graphics, make sure the ALT tag of the graphic indicates the link destination in text. If linking to a to a large file provide KB size so visitor can choose if they would like to wait to view page based on their connection speed. Text Links should indicate destination, and if possible a signification keyword and phrase of web’s purpose.

B. Location Indication Bar:
[Ex: Home > Design > Design Plan Steps]

Tip:
• If deciding about having a Location Link Bar isn't easy, just think of it like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs, it's especially a good thing to have if your Navigation main links are graphic images.

D4. My logo; I already have a logo, I would like to rework logo for the website, I don’t have one?

D5. Create Storyboard, Outline or what is called a Navigational Chart to visual informational flow of website.

D6. Your Information Gathering:

Tips for Copy or Text:
• write like your visitor is sitting across the table from you
• keep copy simple, concise, clear, sentences short and highlight important words or phrases
• use bullet points or numbered lists where possible
• convey emotion, quality, credibility, trust & professionalism
• communicate quickly and efficiently
• high quality content is a must, be the authority on your subject
• target keywords to appropriate landing pages
• check spelling and grammar

Tips Graphic Image:
• GIF images [Graphic Interchange Format] is the most widely supported graphics format on the Web
• GIFs of diagrammatic [line drawings] images look better than JPEGs, and supports transparency and interlacing
• JPEG images [Joint Photographic Experts Group] has huge compression ratios which mean faster download speeds
• JPEG produces excellent results for most photographs and complex images and supports (24-bit, "true color") images

H - Host
H1. Checklist For Web Hosting Plans: Use this check list to decide what your needs are for hosting then pick the appropriate plan, if this is a bit technically do your best and we will help.
• Operating System - Linux or Windows
• Disk Space - "storage" - often measured in MB
• Additional Space & cost for exceeding the limit
• Data Transfer - "traffic" - often measured in GB
• Additional Transfer - cost for exceeding the limit
• Email - POP3, auto responders, forwarding
• Databases - storage space and database type
• Scripting Languages - PHP, ASP, JSP, etc.
• CGI-Bin - custom scripting or prepared scripts
• FrontPage - special extensions needed for FP
• IP Address - unique number just for your website
• Log Files - the "raw" line-by-line detail of activity
• Statistics - summaries, sometimes with graphics
• Secure Server (SSL) - needed for e-commerce
• Shopping Cart - a default cart
• Control Panel - web-based account management
• Setup Time - self-serve or 24 hrs turnaround
• Payment Terms - monthly, quarterly or yearly
• Price - satisfy your needs, pick plan

P - Promotion
P1. SEO [Search Engine Optimization] is a set of keyword placement strategies aimed at improving the rank of a website in search engine listing results.  Provide a list of keywords and keyword phrases used by your website’s audience: (one to four words)

P2. SEM [Search Engine Marketing] which encompasses several forms of paid marketing used to increase website visibility or rank in search engine and directory results. SEM includes PIP [Paid Inclusion Program], PPC [Pay Per Click], PPV [Pay Per View], etc. Other Promotion methods include Link Building, Email Marketing and Conventional Marketing. For SEM it depends on your budget and if you would like Full-Serve or Self Serve Promotion. Please provide your budget and services preference. Or after providing answering the above questions we can make a suggestion.

P3. Maintenance, Monitoring and Analysis of SEO/SEM
Depending on your site a constant maintenance, monitoring or the ranking under your keywords, traffic analysis, keyword research, keyword refresh, and competitive analysis should be done. We offer this service or we can teach you how to perform most tasks. Remember adding fresh content like articles, specials and linking building is important too.

P4. Promotional Fit. How should your web presence fit with current marketing materials? Tell us your plan…

P5. Measurement. How will you measure the success of the website?

Complete the Design Host Promote Planning Steps Sheet above for a formal quote.
Save by providing text, images, keywords, keyword phrases ads and ad copy electronically.