What are the hallmarks of a good website? How do you know if your website is still working for you? How do you go about planning a site that works for all your intended users? Our presentation offers an overview of critical elements and road blocks to getting a good website.

1. Has your website passed it’s ‘sell by date?’

2. Reason to exist
Users
Needs
Functionality

3. Hallmarks of a good site
Clean
Fast
Responsive
Navigation easy to use
User focused

4. Off the rack or custom?
CMS vs Static
Purchased template
Professional design
Google Sites
Free?

5. Resources & budget
Time
Energy
Money
Staff

6. Planning
Timeline
Content
Hierarchy

7. Design faux pas
Bad design/no white space
Low contrast text
All about us
No contact information/phone
Auto play audio/video
Too many fonts/colors

8. Potholes
Flash
Dated content
Under construction
Blank pages
Non-responsive
Poor organization

9. Roadblocks
Not cross browser compatible
Lengthy contact forms
Subscription popups
Social share icons stuck to the side
Ads that make noise/ads in general

10. Analysis
Your existing site
Your competitors

11. Before the design begins
Are you text ready?
Images/logos
Downloadable files
Forms
Testimonials
Links

12. Social & email
Create connections
Demonstrate connections
Expand network

13. Marketing
Online
Offline
Social
Print
Events

14. SEO=can you find us?
Page title & description
Headline
Sub-heads
File names
Alt tags
Natural search phrases/variations

15. Evaluation
Google Analytics
Content path
Bounce rate
Google Webmaster tools

16. Homework
Website planning questionnaire
http://goo.gl/WXmCS0

17. Photo credits
● Thanks to Flickr Users
○ Mat Price
○ Ashley Davidson
○ Mykl Roventine
○ Seth Sawyers
○ KungPaoCajun
○ Davedehetre
○ StockMonkeys.com via Flickr
○ JeepersMedia
○ Tim Green
○ Leo Hidalgo
○ Taylor.a
○ pat00139
○ Roy Costello