W EB P RESENCE S TRATEGIES FOR S MALL C OMMUNITIES AND L OCAL G OVERNMENTS Module 1 Lesson B. Planning for Website Development

L ESSON O BJECTIVES Identify committee members that will assist with the development of a website Discuss ways to create buy-in and obtain input from stakeholders Develop website goals and objectives Learn how to choose a domain name Build on past experiences Effectively partner with other organizations Ascertain resource availability Develop a site map

U SE W ORKSHEET AS A G UIDE The essentials of this presentation can be efficiently catalogued in Worksheet A-1 Be honest and thorough—hard work on the front end will pay huge dividends on the back end Remember that this worksheet is a living document and may change over time Let’s get to work

V ISION AND M ISSION What is unique about your community? Where do you want to see your community in five years? In one year? Has your community established vision and mission statements? How will our project help achieve the vision or implement the mission?

B UY - IN / I NPUT FROM S TAKEHOLDERS

T ARGET AUDIENCE Who are you targeting? Remember, the target audience will influence: Content Marketing strategies Technology Branding Cross-linking Site design

W EBSITE G OALS AND O BJECTIVES Goals are broad and should be discussed early in the process Meeting the site’s goals is accomplished through achieving measurable objectives Goals should be SMART Example “Goal” and Objectives (1-3): “To promote economic development in Smith County though the development of a tourism-based website to be launched in Fall 2011” 1.Offering an online tourism-related business planning guide 2.Identifying and marketing points of interest using map-based tools 3.Linking information about local destinations with that given by local destination owners/managers to create an easily navigable one-stop shop for vacation planning

C OMMON C OMMUNITY W EBSITE C OMPONENTS

C REATING THE S ITE M AP - B RAINSTORM A site map provides a guide to the site’s overall layout for the developer and the end user The site map connects content and offers a path to specific information topics The first order of business is to brainstorm an exhaustive list of topics that need to be included on the site Topics can be general and specific

C REATING THE S ITE M AP - L UMPING Look over the list of topics Are themes beginning to emerge? Are there some obvious outliers? Is anything missing? How well do the suggested topics fit the: Vision? Goal? Target audience? Now, try to create five to ten major categories or themes and list all of the corresponding topics within

H OMEWORK - C ONTENT D EVELOPMENT As with everything else, there can be “too many cooks in the kitchen” Now that the categories have been identified, take the time to link them with a Chairperson and members of a sub-committee Roles: o Develop and acquire content o Serve as contact(s) o Work with partners o Meet deadlines o Report on progress to Project Chair

A VAILABLE R ESOURCES Now that the site, as Available Resources currently envisions it, is taking shape what internal (to the committee) and external resources are available and how will they contribute? o Local photographers – images for site o Youth – logo contest o School system – server space o Community college – statistics

B RANDING How should the site be branded? o Depends on the “community” that the proposed site is serving o Is there an existing brand that needs to expanded to the site? o Branding details: Logo Tagline Color scheme Other aspects?

B UDGET Is your committee endowed with a budget? o If so, What can you spend money on? How much? When does the money have to be spent by? o If not, Who will do the site design? Who will cover the costs of the domain name, hosting, etc.?

T IMELINE We have discussed financial resources and the deadlines associated with any funding. Are there other factors that impact the deadline? What is the site launch date? What are the initial category content deadlines? Other important deadlines or milestone markers?

D O YOU ALREADY HAVE A SITE ? What is the current website status? How does your community perceive your site? How do “outsiders” perceive your site? What is the current usage of your site (i.e. web traffic statistics)? Who developed your current site? List contact information. Who maintains your current site(s)? List contact information. Do you have direct access to all of the content files associated with the current site?

T HE EXISTING SITE …A SSETS If the existing site is being overhauled or completely replaced, are there items that should be retained? o Text o Photos o Logos o Color schemes o Domain name(s) o Links o Documents

S USTAINABILITY Describe how this new website will be updated and sustained. Do you need assistance finding a web developer? If not, who may be developing the site? List contact information.

C OMPLEMENTARY S ITES AND P ARTNERS Are there sites that complement your own? o List sites and general content of interest Use to your advantage so you do not have to re-create content o Ensure that redundancies are avoided Co-marketing/promotion is different from recreating the wheel o Guarantee that credit is given when credit is due Partnering is a two-way street

C HOOSING A D OMAIN N AME Domain names come in a variety of flavors that are applicable to a community’s goals o.com = Commercial o.org = Organization o.gov = Government The part of the domain name unique to your site (i.e., smithcounty) should be available, reflect your goals and easy to remember and spell. Owning the most common options is a good idea…but only one should be promoted!

A BIT MORE ON D OMAIN N AMES Availability o To check domain name availability: o Available to local, state and federal government entities o Requires registration process and needs to be available o Begin at: Government Domain and Registration Services -

W HERE WILL PEOPLE FIND YOU ? Given your vision, goal(s) and audience: What URL(s) are you proposing to use (i.e., Do you already own this (these) URL(s)? Are there other URLs that you should own? Please list:

M ARKETING Y OUR S ITE Search Engine Optimization Online Listings Word of Mouth – physical and virtual Professional Associations Online Directories Banner Advertisements Media Exposure Cross linking on other web sites Your Products Existing offline marketing tools

N EXT S TEPS The next workshop (#3) will be held on: o Date: o Time: o Place: Please invite your sub-committee members if they are not part of the original core group We will be exploring a wide variety of content options and moving forward with our individual category page development