Notes from 45th International STC Conference
Anaheim, California, May 17-20, 1998

Using a WWW Design Document to Build a Comprehensive Web Site

Amey L. Celoria, Mackenzie L. Faure, and Cecilia Ewa Kullberg
Modus Operandi, Indialantic, FL

Abstract: This presentation will explore the methodology and demonstrate the practical application of a WWW Development Design Document for building an award-winning and comprehensive Web site.

• Note: 5-page handout available... you can contact the presenters (mail links above) or give me a call (or e-mail note) and I'll send it to you.
• Web publishing is a natural extension of our communication skills.
• Challenges faced in developing a Web site
   
• Continually shifting philosophy and purpose
• Differing opinions about what the site should look like
• Conflicts with management
• Distributed team
• Lack of marketing material
• World Wide Web Development Design Document = W³D³
• Web site design is a major opportunity for technical communicators to add value to information--thereby contributing to the company's bottom line and also enhancing their professional stature by positively asserting themselves within the organization.
• Clear goals (and audience analysis) must be defined up front. Failure to do so spells costly rework.
• Phases of Web site design:
   
• Strategy
• Design
• Production
• Delivery
• It's important to identify all team members with a stake in the Web site and involve them in the up-front planning and creation of the W³D³. A reviewed and approved W³D³ precedes production of the Web page, reducing the likelihood of incurring costly changes late in the production process.
• Authors were provided with guidelines for use of HTML and also a template in which to input their content into HTML.
• The "How-To's" of Web site design mirror the steps in any successful communication project:
   
• Define the audience
• Analyze the purpose
• Gather information
• Outline the document
• Generate the rough draft
• Edit the document.
• Elements of a successful Web site
   
• Company goals
• Site design
   
• Navigation plans
• Site map
• User interface
• Look-and-feel
• Page templates
• Graphic templates
• Site content
   
• Written material for the site
• Details of the structure of the information
• Updated schedule
• Site automation
   
• Requirements
• Options
   
• Form processing
• Password protection
• Electronic commerce
• A major advantage of using a W³D³ approach is to establish file naming conventions up front and make sure everyone uses them consistently. Content can -- and should -- be updated continuously, but the file names should remain constant so all the links in the site remain functional.
• The site map is a very important part of the site. In the early stages, it's usually best to keep it a simple "tree" of words, made into hot links, but when the site is mature, image-mapping can be used to create a much more graphically attractive site map, which also becomes a navigation tool.