website

Website strategic planning is the process that determines what form and functionality your website will have.

The website strategic planning process can be divided into two phases, preliminary and core planning. Preliminary planning should be done internally to create the request for proposal. The core strategic planning should be done in conjunction with the web development group, whether internal or working with a outside firm.

When the planning is done you will have provided guidelines for:

• The look of the site
  creative brief, creative spec

Web site promotion refers to any activity that may lead users to your site. Proper site promotion is vital for creating a qualified Internet audience. Marketing not only creates traffic for your site but also targets your visitors, molds their expectations, and enhances long-term branding.

A Wireframe is a non-graphical representation of how information should be organized on a page.

For more information, see best practices: wireframeing

My two boys, Cameron and Conner, are all about games; video games, board games, table games even outdoor games, if it's competitive they want to be a part. One area where I've really struggled is with their obsession of video games and more specifically online games from the likes of Disney.com and NickJr.com. It's not that I really mind them playing, in fact I know it's helping them to further develop their motor skills, but I wish online games were more like those of say LeapFrog where there is some learning involved.

Spring cleaning ... Ah, yes. That time of the year when we sort through the junk drawer in the kitchen, organize and file paperwork, and dust the china. I've done a little spring cleaning myself. My "Bookmarks" is like the junk drawer in your kitchen. For 365 days I have been throwing in cool website, useful websites, and the totally unnecessary websites. Here are some that I'm definitely keeping in my bookmarks:

Cool websites:

www.makeusof.com

As a creative person, I'm always looking for different things to inspire me and my designs, such as museums, books, the internet, and my surroundings. When I can't get out of the office, I like to check out different designers websites for inspiration. There has been a recent trend in the web world of "web galleries", which showcase hundreds of websites with good design. I like to browse through these galleries, clicking from link to link to look for something, may it be a design element, color scheme, or interesting photo, that catches my creative eye and sparks the lightbulb in my brain.