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Cool People Care Blog
FRIDAY, FEB. 15, 2008 Why Websites Suck: Make It Big If there were a simple 3-step process to (re)making your website suck less, this would definitely be it.
When we last left our hero... Ok. Welcome back. It’s been too long to actually consider this series of blog posts anything less than inconsistent, but hopefully by using the power of HTML we can keep the thread alive. First we identified our audiences. Second, we determined what we wanted to communicate with those audiences. There, you’re caught up. Now, the next step -- Make it. Too often the “Make It” step is the first phase undertaken in a Web site (re)design and while the end result still might look pretty, it might not serve to function as a useful or usable tool to extend your organization’s mission into the digital world. So, by ID’ing the audience first, and tailoring your content to both what your audience(s) want and what you want them to know, you’re putting a higher priority on what is in actuality the most important element of your Web site -- the people and the message. The colors and photos and layout and functionality all take a back seat to making sure you’re talking to the right people and saying the right things -- and don’t let any heady designer try and convince you otherwise. Now it’s time to partner with the right person or firm to make your Web site reflect the attitude and personality of your organization. And of course, there are more than three ways to skin this cat, all usually related to the available budget for said skinning. But it’s easiest to break it down into three possible options, small Medium and LARGE. If you’re undertaking your (re)design with a preset budget, categorize your budget as such (NOTE: these are to be used only as guidelines and indeed, are neither hard nor fast rules):
Working “budget-backwards” isn’t always ideal, and too often in the nonprofit world, money dictates action. But fret not, you will be able to get what you need no matter the budget, with the right partnerships and right approach. Consider partnering (read: hiring) an outside firm to handle this piece of the puzzle for you. Volunteers and board members are great assets, but are potentially pulled too many other directions for this process to go as smoothly and quickly as it can. Plenty of firms have capacity to do either pro-bono work or to offer cut rates to nonprofits. Spend some time asking other nonprofit professionals in your community if they’ve worked with someone in the community. Look for first-degree referrals and explore the possibility of “making it” and making it work. If you’re fortunate to have staff available to do the design work, great. Make sure the design process (audicence ID’ing, message creation, etc.) is a collaborative process and not left to the designs only of the marketing department, et al. Strategically spending some money up front will reap long-term benefits in the end, and after working yourself to design the most important elements on your own, you’ll spend less (and get more) by working with a capable contractor. We’ll talk more about this approach and other pieces to the “Why Websites Suck” puzzle, but for now, make a new friend to help you make it big. |
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