Website Development Worksheet

Website Development Worksheet

ORGANIZATION _______________________________________________

CONTACT PERSON _______________________________________________

This worksheet is used in conjunction with InterConnection’s Website Development Packet.

The questions and information in this document are designed to facilitate the Virtual Volunteer Website
Assistance Program. All organizations that request InterConnection’s website support are responsible for
providing the listed materials and responding to all questions.

Completed Task
Identity Details
The Purpose of the Website
Who Will Use the Website
Materials
Design
Functionality
Outline
Hosting
Marketing

InterConnection
info@interconnection.org
124 N. 35th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
206-310-4547
fax:206-633-1517

www.interconnection.org

IDENTITY DETAILS

Identity Details:
Organization’s name:

Address:

Country:

Phone:

Fax:

General Email:

Contact person:

The contact person must be available by email
to provide timely responses to questions
regarding the website’s layout and content.

Contact person’s email address:

Briefly describe the organization:
(Discuss its mission and programs)

Briefly describe the community supported:
(Target Beneficiaries)


THE PURPOSE OF THE WEBSITE
Having a clear strategy for the website is crucial. Some alternative reasons for wanting a site are set out
below. Please ask the organization to rank the importance of each one by scoring each of them from 5 to
0, with 5 being very important and 0 being unimportant. Please ring the choice eg. 5 4 3 2 1 0

543210 Email
To be able to correspond faster, more cheaply and more conveniently.

543210 An online reference source for the Public
The website will be used for a repository of information and news. It will be the
equivalent of an electronic brochure. It will be a source that can be referred to for
people who are looking to learn more about the organization.

543210 An online reference source for Donors
The aim being to allow potential donors to look up and learn more about current
programs and projects.

543210 Recruitment of Volunteers
The website is to hold details of vacancies available and provide information about the
sort of volunteers needed.

543210 Market Crafts and Products
The website will be used to reach previously unreachable regional, national and
international markets.

543210 Market Services
The website will be used to market services like tours and development projects

543210 Monetary Donations
The website will be used to solicit monetary donations for projects and administration.

Please list any other reasons why you want the site, scoring them 5 to 0 as above.


WEBSITE MATERIALS
Website materials are the building blocks of websites. Website materials are primarily written content and
photos. The website’s materials are used by the web design volunteer to create the website.

CONTENT
The website’s content is its text. The content should include such background information as the
organization’s mission, its programs and its services. This information can be gained by interviewing the
members of the organization, community and support recipients. A good source for the website’s content
can come from existing brochures, flyers or handouts.

A website’s content must be concise and easy to read. Internet users tend to scan information rather
than reading details. Information gathered from existing publications generally needs to be edited and
made more concise.

The website’s content must be provided in a digital format, preferably a MS Word file or an email. Web
design volunteers generally do not retype text sent via postal mail.

A computer disk is included with this packet to which text files can be saved.

Describe how the content should be organized on the website. For example, specify the text that will be
on the front page, the background page, the support page and so on. These details should be included
on the website’s outline.
Content to Include
• Mission statement • Description of the staff and volunteers
• Objectives of the organization • A list of needs, such as volunteers, computers
• History or monetary donations
• Current projects and programs • Description of how to volunteer or donate
• Description of the local community • Contact information

GRAPHICS
Website graphics include photos and logos. Graphics are an extremely important part of a website’s
design as they are the best way to catch the attention of website viewers and get them interested in an
organization’s work. Preparing and choosing graphics and photos carefully will help to ensure the
usefulness and popularity of a website.

Graphics to Include Photos to Include
• Logos • Projects • Staff
• Brochures • Products • Support recipients
• Letterhead • Facilities • Community members
• Housing • Local surroundings

Graphics must be provided to InterConnection in a digital format such as .jpg or .gif files. Graphics can
be sent via email or saved to the provided disk. Graphics should include a title and description regarding
where the graphic should be placed on the website. For example, specify which graphics you want on
the front page, on the background page and each subsequent webpage. These specifications are usually
included in the website’s outline.


WEBSITE DESIGN
What should the website look like? An InterConnection volunteer will design the website but the
organization has the opportunity to suggest its style, colors and features. The website’s design might be
similar to existing brochures and flyers. The design may also be done in a way that represents the
organization’s mission and needs.

EXAMPLES
If possible look at existing websites with the organization. Looking at existing sites will give a better idea
of possible color schemes, content layout and programming features.

You can start by looking at some websites previously donated by InterConnection.
Go to www.interconnection.org/ngo/gallery.php to view the list.

The Website Development Packet includes printed websites that can be reviewed to gain a better
understanding of possible designs and layout.

Favorite Websites
Please list below the names (and, if possible the WWW site addresses) for any websites or pages
that you have seen and think are especially attractive or worthwhile.

Websites of Comparable Organizations
Please list below the names (and, if possible the WWW site addresses) of any organizations that
offer similar services.

COLOR
Select the overall color of the website. Generally, the color of the website matches existing brochures or
logos. For the most part, a white or light colored background is recommended for best readability and
contrast.

Your color preference(s): _____________________________


WEBSITE OUTLINE
Once the website’s materials have been prepared and the general design of the website has been
determined the most involved and important step of the website planning process can be initiated; the
website outline. The outline describes how many pages the website will include and how the text and
graphics on each webpage should be organized. Think of the prospective site in "outline" form.. that is, if
an outline were written for how the site would be structured, what would it look like? Start with main menu
items and work down into sub-menus. By doing this, an approximation can be made of how many pages
the finished website will require.

A good way to start is to get together with everyone involved in the web design project and sketch out the
website’s layout. The website layout sketch includes the title of each webpage, the location of graphics
and the text for each page. It shows how pages area connected to each other. This process results in a
clear understanding of the site’s layout and a better ability to explain the layout to the web design
volunteer.

There is no limit to the number of pages for a website. However, most of InterConnection’s web design
volunteers do not have time to work on extensive website projects.

THE SUGGESTED WEBSITE FORMAT IS 5 PAGES.

The following is an example of a website outline for a very basic website:

Include mission statement, contact
information, and site map
Front Page
Graphic: Picture A above contact
information, logo

Background Programs and
Information Services

Include background information, future goals of the Include the list and descriptions of current programs
organization, its history and past accomplishments. and services
Graphics B Graphic: Picture C, Picture D

Community Support Page
Page

Describes the community being supported Include information on the type of support needed,
and the local surroundings; include photos of how the support will be used and how people can
community members, the landscape and a make donations.
map of its location Graphic: Picture E and F

WEBSITE OUTLINE
Go ahead and sketch a website layout for the organization. Include as much details about each page’s
content and graphics as possible. Use additional pages if necessary.


HOSTING
InterConnection provides two types of website hosting for its website recipients, shared name and domain
name website hosting.

Shared Name Hosting is provided for free to our support recipients. Websites with Shared Name Hosting
have the interconnection.org domain name included in the website's URL (web address). For instance,
www.yourname.interconnection.org

Domain Name Hosting is provided for a small fee. Websites with Domain Name Hosting have their own
web address. For instance, www.yourname.org The advantage of domain name hosting compared to our
shared hosting is your web address is permanent.

Both hosting packages include access to their own website administrator page. The website
administrator page allows the user to create mailboxes, add users, and view website statistics.
All websites are hosted on secure and professionally managed servers.

Shared Name Website Hosting Domain Name Website Hosting
www.yourname.interconnection.org www.yourname.org
Server Storage 50 Mb Server Storage 50 Mb
POP E-Mail Accounts 5 POP E-Mail Accounts 5
Telnet/Shell Accounts 1 Telnet/Shell Accounts 1
Website Administration Page Website Administration Page
Unlimited Email aliases Unlimited Email aliases
Free Stats Free Stats
FrontPage® FrontPage®
Your own Cgi-Bin Your own Cgi-Bin
Auto responders Auto responders
Daily Backups Daily Backups

Cost: Cost:
FREE to InterConnection Subscribers $20 yearly domain name registration fee
*not applicable if your domain name is already registered.
$20 one time set up fee $20 one time set up fee
- All fees are paid per year -

I want Shared Name Hosting _____ I want domain name hosting _____

Choose a shared name Choose a domain name
www.__________________.org
www._______________.interconnection.org
Note: No one can have the same domain name so
you must check to see if the name has already been
taken. A website for checking available domain
names is www.networksolutions.com
If a domain name hosting is chosen the organization will be provided with payment details.


MARKETING
The Internet is a vast resource and growing all the time. Once a website goes online, it will take time and
effort to get noticed and receive visitors and support. There are a few steps that can be taken to improve
the chances of being seen.

Non Profit Database

First, all volunteer created websites are added to InterConnection’s popular non profit database at
www.interconnection.org/ngo/index.php This resource is used by many people doing research and
looking for volunteer opportunities.

Please provide a one-sentence description of your organization or project that can be submitted to the
non profit database:

Key Words

The website will be submitted to Internet search websites when it is completed, like google.com and
altavista.com. Search websites generally classify websites based on the keywords embedded the coding
of the webpages. It is important to add keywords that help search websites classify a website. Examples
of keywords might be “economic development, Guatemala” or “Hunger relief, Uganda”.

Provide a list of keywords that can be used for the website: (No more than 15)

NOTE:

Don’t rely on people finding a website by searching for it through search websites. Website recipients
must advertise OUTSIDE of the Internet. Some ideas for getting the word out include adding the web
address to business cards and brochures, publishing an email newsletter, and having a website launch
event.


Website Development Worksheet

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