Site Specifications are very much like the blueprints used to construct your office building or home. They will serve to keep the design process realistic, organized, and within range of your original goals and objectives.
The primary specifications that you will want to address first are:
• The budget for your site.
• The scope of your design.
• And the scheduled launch date.
In that order.
The budget for your site will define the scope or scale of your design, which will in turn, determine how long it will take to develop it. If you are vigilant in merging these three areas into one realistic and unified plan, you will have placed yourself in the best possible position for success. The rest of the design process will follow that model.
Below is a general outline of issues that should be addressed.
Goals and Strategies
• What is your mission?
• How will creating a web site support your mission?
• What are the two or three most important goals for the site?
• Who is the primary audience?
• What do you want the audience to think or do after having visited your site?
• What Web-related strategies will you use to achieve those goals?
• How will you measure the success of your site?
• How will you adequately maintain the finished site?
Production Issues
• What is the budget for the site?
• How many pages will the site contain, or what is the maximum acceptable count under your budget?
• What special technical or functional requirements are needed?
• What is the production schedule for the site?
• Who are the people or vendors on the development team and what are their responsibilities?
