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What Type of Site Do You Need?

The simplest site to develop, brochure sites typically consist of just a few pages: A Home page to welcome folks and introduce the business, product or organization, an About Us page to provide a few additional details and a Contact Us page to provide contact information (such as an email address or phone number). Brochure sites are easy to develop but offer only the bare essentials regarding a company or organization. See Example

Typical websites consist of categories of pages that are grouped together in a logical or intuitive fashion and provide full details regarding a business or organization. In addition to the typical home page, about us page and contact us page, standard sites offer additional details intended to answer most questions of those visiting the site. Standard sites typically range from 6-20 pages and require an ample collection of text, graphic and document assets. See Example

Often, organizations need to go beyond a standard site and offer enhanced functionality as well, basically taking elements of their business online and becoming more productive and efficient at what they do. Typical pages of content are added, but functionality (incorporated as DotNetNuke "modules") are added as well, resources that allow site visitors to "do" as well as "review." Thousands of functional modules are available and can be incorporated throughout an enhanced site. See Example

Finally, some organizations need to go even beyond an enhanced site and incorporate custom design and/or programming elements to meet their online business needs. While this is of course the most challenging approach to web development, it also ensures that organizations acquire exactly what they need to be productive and efficient online. See Example

Defining Your Site Map

The best way to get started is to develop a simple site map. Such a map helps you organize the pages of your website, categorizing pages as necessary and identifying pages that may need functionality as well as content. While all sites should consist of a home page, an about us page and a contact us page, you may wish to consider additional pages:

Benefits - List the many benefits available to your customers

Calendar/Events - Let folks know about important events on your organization's calendar

Documents Library - Make a wide variety of documents available to your customers

Donation - Allow site visitors to donate or subscribe to your organization

FAQs - Provide frequently asked questions regarding your business, products or services

History - Provide a detailed history of your business or organization

Image Gallery - Display your best images in gallery format (or link to your Flickr account)

Links - Provide a list of outside Internet resources to sites relevant to your organization

Marketplace - Let visitors know about the products or services you or your business partners provide

Members Directory - Provide information regarding your employees, directors or business partners

Members Only - Provide pages of content that only members of your site can access (requiring a login)

Newsletter - Allow site visitors to access and sign-up for organization newsletters

Press Releases - Develop a library of press releases periodically made available

And Lots More - There are ENDLESS possibilities!

Of course, we here at The Huelsman Way can help you determine the best scope for your site, what resources you should make available and how best to go about developing your site map. Contact us today and we'll get you started on the right path!