Facilitating Conversations: Orange, Interface Design, and Electronic Discourse
Planning a Web Project
In this article:
Introduction
One of the most important aspects of information design is the planning process. Unfortunately, the planning process is one of the first items to get cut when schedules are tight. Projects that have skipped this step often suffer from problems that are difficult to fix once the site has been developed. For example, sites that have not been planned in advance often contain information that was added randomly and inconsistently, related topics don't link to one another, and readers have a frustrating experience navigating the site.
Even simple websites will benefit from a project plan. Whether a large team is working on the site or whether one person is doing all the work, a project plan will keep key objectives at the forefront and ensure that the site is organized and well-designed.
This guide is intended to help you identify the decisions you will need to consider in planning a website that delivers content to an established audience. This type of website is becoming more common as online information delivery becomes a viable option for more companies.