There will be a maximum of 18 business days before launch (three and a half weeks).

Day 1:

You decide to purchase a site. You pay a 50% deposit ($1,500 unless discounts apply) and submit your organization’s logo along with any other images you are licensed to use (this process includes signing a release for the images) which are needed for site interface design. After we receive the initial payment, we provide you with login information for our project management service. The following information is requested of you:

• Your brand profile
• Primary and secondary decision makers (including contact information)
• Domain name preferences
• List of relevant search engine keywords (up to 25)
• List of competitor sites (up to 5)
• List of favorite sites (up to 5), rated in terms of design and experience each on the scale of 1-5
• List of required email address (including first and last names of recipients)
• Basic layout preferences (we will provide you with samples to choose from)
• List of prefferred iStockPhoto images by URL or photo reference number (optional)

Day 2:

You submit the information requested in day one. This is also your last day to provide logo and images without incurring a delay of project* fee.

Day 3:

Our interface designer utilizes the resources you have provided to begin the design. The designer will contact you if any questions arise. By the end of the day a rough interface design is created and shared internally for critical response from our professional design team.

Day 4:

Any needed adjustments resulting from our internal review are executed, and by the end of the day you receive your first proof of the interface design. This proof is delivered via our project management service, and your primary and secondary contacts will be notified. You are prompted to provide feedback on the design.

Day 5:

The development team begins the installation and configuration of our preferred content management system (CMS), initiation of domain name transfer or registration, and integration of your domain with Google services (including email account setup).

Day 6:

Client feedback on the design proof is due, either via our project management system, or directly with the designer. If feedback is provided directly to the designer via phone, meeting, or email; the executable tasks will be recorded in our project management service. No additional confirmation will be required, though you’re encouraged to review for accuracy.

Day 7:

The designer reviews the proof feedback, contacting you to clarify any questions you had; and ask any of his or her own. After feedback is discussed, the designer proceeds with the noted adjustments and requests.

Day 8:

You receive a revised proof of the design (officially referred to as “Proof Two”). If no further changes are needed, you will provide a formal proof approval and the project will proceed to the next phase. If further changes are needed, two additional days may be added to the project timeline, for another revision cycle (these two additional days are not subject to additional fees). If the Proof Three is not accepted, there will be a delay of project fee added to your account for each day of further revision, until the Final Proof is approved.

Day 9:

The designer finalizes the files of the site interface design, and passes them off to the development team for implementation.

Day 10:

The primary implementation of the design is complete, and the site is published on a testing server for internal testing and review.

Day 11:

Any necessary revisions to the site based on our internal testing and review are completed.

Day 12:

All your copy, photo, and video content is due. We review your copy for spelling and grammatical errors, as well as adjusting it in the context of the provided keywords. Photos are added to your newly created Picasa Web Albums account, and videos are added to your newly created YouTube account. Copy will be loaded into the CMS, and related images and videos are inserted as you specify. If you cannot get all of these assets together by day twelve, one day will be added to the project without and additional fee. However, if additional days are required you will incur a delay of project fee for each day until the assets are received, and the timeline will then resume.

Day 13:

You will be sent a private link to review the site. We request feedback in several areas:

• Accurate spelling of your company name, keywords, and content
• Accurate depiction of your images and videos
• Accurate association of images and video with appropriate copy
• Any general feedback on the site

Day 14:

You are securely provided administrative login information for the CMS and all supporting services.***

Day 15:

Any necessary edits based on your review of the test site are complete and you will be notified the site is ready for launch. You receive a final invoice, including any discounts and rewards for incentive programs. After final payment is received, the site is launched. Though our tasks will be executed immediately upon final payment, it may take 24 – 72 hours for your site to be available online. This timeframe is commonly known as “propagation” and applies to all site launches across the internet.

Days 16 – 18:

These days may or may not be required depending on how quickly the project progresses. If you have not opted for any extensions the project is complete by day fifteen. If for any reason you extend the project beyond eighteen days, there is a delay of project fee incurred for each day beyond eighteen.

Your Responsibilities

Logo

Provide your organization’s logo, preferably in a digital, vector format such as Adobe Illustrator, or EPS. If this is not available to you, send us the best quality file(s) you have available. If you do not have digital files available, bring in the best quality print, up to 8.5 x 14 that you have for scanning. If we are using a scanned logo, additional fees may be assessed for cleaning up or redrawing the resulting logo file for use in the site interface design. Fees will be estimated to the client prior to execution of anything beyond an initial scan and crop. The initial scan is included in the Foundation Site. You will be provided with the digital files for future use.

Copy

Provide at least basic, rough draft style copy which is sufficient to launch the site. Keep in mind the included pages listed above and feel free to ask for copy guidance via our project management system. We will review and update the copy for grammar and adjust the content to include optimized keywords from the provided list. This package does not include full copy writing services, only editing. All site content must be submitted by the end of the project’s second week. Failure to submit on time may result in a delay of project fee each day.

Photos

Provide digital files of any imagery intended for use in your site content and interface design. This site package does not include photography services. The interface design services provide for a 20 credit budget of stock imagery. All images required for use in the site interface design must be submitted at the outset of the project. All images required for use as site content must be submitted by the end of the project’s second week.

Video

Provide video files of all content to be included in the site by the end of the second week. We will create your YouTube account, install the required plugin, and insert your videos as requested.

This site package does not include filming, editing, ripping, or rendering your video files. Video submissions should be the following file formats: Windows Media Video (.WMV), .3GP (cell phones), .AVI (windows), .MOV (mac), .MP4 (ipod/psp), .MPEG, .FLV (adobe flash), .SWF (shockwave flash), .MKV (h.264)

Caveats

We do not accept Microsoft Publisher or Works files. Files submitted in this format will be utilized as submitted, with a $15 conversion fee, per file. These fees will not be estimated to the client before execution.

Your requested domain names may not be available. If you would like to review availability in advance, Register.com and Hosting.com have great, simple tools on their home pages. Do not register your domain as registration or transfer is included in the site cost.

We can create affordable small business sites because of this structured timeline.  Diverting from this timeline decreases the efficiencies which make these projects affordable. Therefore, we require that our clients agree to all client responsibilities, the defined timeline, maximum number of additional days, and understand the delay of project fees.

* Project Delay fees are $75 per day

Micro-blogs are basically the same as traditional blogs, except that the posts are much shorter. This style was popularized by Facebook, Twitter, and other web services using “status message” broadcasting.

There are several different types of blogs. Most fall within the following three categories:

• Personal blogs allow individuals to publish virtually anything on the web. Content of these blogs tend to be either a personal journal, aggregation / republication of other content, or editorial content (content that expresses the author’s perspective on topics or events). Some personal bloggers are considered professional bloggers because the writers are either employed or have successfully monetized their blog.
• Community blogs tend to have similar content as personal blogs, but it’s generated by more than one administrative user. These blog will either have a particular set of regular bloggers, or will allow the public to submit content that is either moderated by web site administrators, or by the public.
• Business blogs are focused differently than other type of blogs. They can be broken down into two major types: internal and external. Internal business blogs are targeted at people within the company, and possibly stakeholders. These blogs are geared towards improving communication between management and employees as well as providing an additional vehicle for building corporate values. External blogs are generally created as a PR vehicle. They allow a company to provide content to, and interact with the press, dealers, customers, and prospects.

Need More Assistance? Have Additional Questions? Give us a call at 616-796-9936 or email us at studio@36squares.com and we will be glad to help you out. And, if you decide to develop your new web site with us, and mention this article you may be eligible for a $100 discount.

Nearly all new sites are created with a CMS, because the effort of adding a CMS to a site is not that much more than creating the site as a set of static html files (and it is much easier to manage). However, a CMS is not necessary for all sites. The people at SEOMoz put together a few questions to help you decide whether or not you need a CMS. A brief summary of their questionnaire is as follows:

• Do you need to update the site more than once a month?
• Are you planning to run a blog on your site?
• Will non-web developers be updating/managing content on the site?
• Do you require the ability to manage your site’s content from remote locations (w/o downloading special software)?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then a CMS is right for you. If you answered no to all of the above questions, you will probably be able to get away with a static site. Keep in mind, a static site may need the assistance of our web team to update content down the road.

Need More Assistance? Have Additional Questions? Give us a call at 616-796-9936 or email us at studio@36squares.com and we will be glad to help you out. And, if you decide to develop your new web site with us, and mention this article you may be eligible for a $100 discount.

Additional Resources:

• http://www.seomoz.org/blog/choosing-the-right-cms-platform-for-your-website-from-an-seo-perspective

The underlying framework of most modern websites are four regions: header, footer, navigation, and content. This article addresses three common orientations of the navigation region, along with the pros and cons of each option.

Horizontal Navigation

Pros

• Unobtrusive. This layout does not interfere with the content of any of the pages.
• Concise. This layout does not waste any space on the page. This is an advantage over vertical navigation which may create a large section of unused space below it.

Cons

• Not flexible. After launching the site, adding links to or removing links from the navigation may require altering the design of the site, thereby increasing cost.

Vertical Navigation (Left Side)

Pros

• Puts focus on navigation. Since western readers read from left to right this layout will give the highest priority to the navigation. This is a good option for sites that have many pages that are relevant, but have relatively low amounts of content on each page, such as an online store.
• Flexible. This layout allows new links to be added and removed without having to worry about restructuring the layout of the page.

Cons

• Wastes space. The navigation will be as tall as the content section, but unless you have many links, most of your navigation column will be empty.

Vertical Navigation (Right Side)

Pros

• Puts the focus on content. Most people read from left to right, this means your content will be the first thing readers see. This is ideal for sites that have a lot of content, such as a blog.
• Flexible. This layout allows new links to be added and removed without having to worry about restructuring the layout of the page.
• Convenience. Many users tend to keep their mouse cursor close to the scroll bar. Since the scrollbar is on the right side of the page, by keeping navigation on the right side it will be closer to their mouse cursor.

Cons

• Wastes space. The navigation will be as tall as the content section, but unless you have many links, most of your navigation column will be empty.

Need More Assistance?  Have Additional Questions? Give us a call at 616-796-9936 or email us at studio@36squares.com and we will be glad to help you out.

Additional Reading:

• http://www.problogdesign.com/blog-layout/should-a-sidebar-go-on-the-left-or-right/
• http://www.webmaster-source.com/2008/02/04/right-vs-left-sidebar/
• http://www.addicottweb.com/2008/11/sidebar-placement-do-you-lean-to-the-right-or-the-left/

Need an Ad? We need to know …

• Is it a print or web-based ad?
• What are the dimensions? (print = inches, web = pixels)
• Publication Name or Web Site Address
• Publication Contact Person
• Art Deadline
• Run Date(s)
• Fonts, logos and pictures required
• Primary and Secondary messages
• A Call to Action
• Event or Sale Details (or other relevant information)
• Physical or Web Address, Phone Number to be included

Need Screen Printed or Embroidered Apparel?  We need to know …

• Requested In Hands Date (is it for an event?)
• Requested Apparel Brand or Style (generic or premium?)
• What is are the general requirements for the graphics?
• How many Colors are we working with?
• How many locations will design appear on a single garment?
• How many of each size is needed?

Need a Custom Illustration? We need to know …

• Requested In Hands Date
• Is the illustration digital or classic? (i.e. on paper)
• If digital, will the file need to be scalable for many sizes?
• If classic, what medium and substrate is requested? (i.e. charcoal on paper, marker on paper, watercolor, etc.)
• What is the intended use of the illustration?
• What reproduction methods will be used?
• What number of colors is preferred?
• What dimensions should each panel be created at, and how many total panels are required?

Need a Logo?  We need to know …

• Company Name, Mission, Vision, Values
• Is there a preference for an Iconic, Typographic, or Illustrative mark?
• What contexts will the Logo be commonly used?
• What stationery and signage needs are there?
• Are there preconceived notions of the logo design, preferred colors or fonts we need to discuss first?

Need a web site?  We need to know …

• Domain name.  Did you register it already?  Where?
• Do you currently have a web presence?  If so, what’s “wrong” with it?
• Company profile
• List of sites and functionality you would like to incorporate in your site
• Will you sell things online (e-commerce), or primarily promote (brochure site) your company?
• Who will maintain the site after its completed?
• What is your ideal launch date?

Again, this is not the final list for any given project type, but merely some thoughts to guide you.  Hopefully these tips help you feel more knowledgeable, prepared, and comfortable when you discuss your project with our team.  This information will allow us to create more accurate estimates, quickly.

Craig Tommola
craig@36squares.com
616.566.6971