Texas Elder Solutions

        "Web Site Development for Texas
        Elder Care Professionals"

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            Building a Great Website

      Below is a brief four step process that is essential to every website design and development project.

      Step 1: Business Requirements

      First, determine what kind of activities you want your customers to be able to perform on your website. Do you want to set up an ecommerce site where potential customers can learn about and purchase your products? Do you want a billboard site with information about your company and where potential customers can go to purchase your products?

      Activities that you can provide your customers may include:

      • Shopping(when selling products online)
      • Registration
      • Requesting information
      • Searching a database
      • Downloading or uploading files
      • Discussion forums
      • Q&A
      • Newsletter

      Step 2: Feature Requirements

      Identify the features that you want to add to your website to make it more engaging and interactive. For example, if you want to set up an ecommerce site, you may want to have a shopping cart. Some common features are:

      • Forms - allows visitors to easily submit or request information
      • Message Boards - visitors can leave or respond to messages
      • Photo Galleries - display graphical information on your products or services
      • Counters - track the number of times a page has been viewed
      • Search - allow visitors to search for content
      • Shopping Cart - software that collects and records the purchases of your customers
      • Inventory Management - automatic updating of your inventory

      Step 3: Service Provider Requirements

      Determine the expertise you need. There are two components to the creation of a website: Design and Development; Design deals with the front-end look and feel. Development deals with the back end functionality. These are distinct skill sets so make sure you hire a person or persons that can provide you with what you need.

      Step 4: Budget Requirements

      Website projects can vary depending the size and what you're wanting to include. Texas Elder Solutions provides the elder care industry with affordable website design, personalized to meet your company's specific needs. In addition to the basic fee for designing and developing your site, you need to also keep in mind there are a additional costs involved such as domain name registration, site hosting and site maintenance.

      Key Terminology You Should be Familiar With

      Here are a few key terms that will help you communicate what you want to the person(s) completing your project. Below are some simple definitions of some basic and advanced web terminology.

      Form: Area of a website where a user can submit information in response to a question, or enter credit card and other purchase information.

      GIF: An image file type commonly used for banners.

      HTML: Hypertext Markup Language. The formatting language used to create web pages

      JPEG: An image file type commonly used for photos

      URL: Universal Resource Locator. Also referred to as a web address or domain name.

      Planning your website project

      Now that you know some of the basics, you need to put together a simple project plan to help you communicate your project needs. Follow these guidelines when putting your plan together.

      • Determine the objective of your website.
      • Define your audience.
      • Determine what content you will need.
      • Look at other sites for inspiration
      • Develop a rough storyboard for your site to ensure that you have all the components.
      • Write up a detailed project description based on the information you have gathered.

      By taking some time upfront to understand what you want and how to get it done efficiently and cost effectively, your website project is sure to be a success.

       

      If you're interested in our website design services contact
      Texas Elder Solutions today!