Have clear goals BEFORE you start building.
Purpose
- What are you planning to say?
- Who's your audience?
Brainstorm
- Use the Post-it method - jot down things you'd like to include, then...
Organize your content
- Categories - may become main menu sections
- Subcategories - sub-menu
- URLs - simple crisp words & consider long term stability for external references *
- Types of Content
- Text, images, embedded files, etc.
Document the proposed site map in a spreadsheet.
Tools Selection
What tools are necessary? Selecting tools early allows them to be effectively integrated into the design.
- Google Sites capabilities
- Other Google Services - Calendar, Drive, Groups, etc.
- non-Google tools
Effective planning will save significant time when building the site.
* For URLs and the Site Map
- Select simple crisp words when naming pages for URLs
- Arrange the Site map for long-term stability
- Maintaining a stable URL is important in situations where there will be external links referencing directly to pages in the site
- A Newsletter may include multiple links into a site
- Providing links to a portfolio of work samples
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