| Website Development - Design Issues |
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When considering a website, do as much of the design and content work yourselves (do draft
layouts, checklists, wishlists, content text etc) - whoever does the development will need
this information anyway, and the more detailed the outline the easier and quicker (and thus
cheaper) it will be to develop. It is the discussions and finetuning (ie colours, logos,
graphics, fonts and fontsizes) that take the time, and this can be costly if you don't
agree beforehand what you actually want! | |
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Objectives
Decide before you start. Focus on the site's message, its intended audience, your goals and objectives.
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Content
Keep the layout simple; be topical; have a sense of activity; wisely use available space;
focus on the important; create freshness and dynamics (to attract return visits).
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Design
Start on paper; use a modular approach; keep a consistent look and feel across all pages
with an integrated and complementary typeface, font size and subdued colour scheme;
only use graphics that support your objectives.
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Technical
Consider browser and PC vs Mac issues, design for 800 x 600 screens (minimize scrolling),
use simple navigation, review page positioning of external links.
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Manpower
Useful to have a mixed skillset of graphical designer, technical author,
developer/coder; assign responsibility for ongoing maintenance and updates.
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Legal ownership and hosting
Bear in mind the annual registration/hosting costs and accessability issues
for updates (share the workload if several churches are involved).
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Have a good look at Spirituality.com.
Make a checklist of the ideas you find
attractive and that work for you. Look at other church sites (CS and non CS)
and do the same (and also note what's annoying or difficult). Think about what
you want to achieve, and don’t be constrained by the seemingly technical difficult. |
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