More on Web DesignInternet Service Providers (ISPs)Implementation and Maintenance

More on Web Design

WHY A WEBSITE?

• Reach Customers Quickly & Reliably

• Establish a Presence in Cyberspace

• Leverage Advertising Costs

• Reduce Customer Service Cost

• Promote Public Relations

• Penetrate International Markets

• Test-market New Products & Services

LIFE CYCLE OF SITE BUILDING

• Plan the Site

• Define Audience & Connection

• Build Site Content

• Define Site Structure

• Create Visual Design

PLAN THE SITE

• Define the Site’s Goals– Determine Who Will Be Involved– Understand the Time & Need Constraints

• Ask Questions Deciding on Site’s Mission & Purpose for the Organization

DEFINE AUDIENCE & COMEPETITION

• Generate a List of Intended Audience

• Identify What Prospective Customers Want

HOW CUSTOMERS JUDGE WEBSITES

• Product Prices• Product Representation• Product Selection• Shipping & Handling• Delivery• Ordering• Privacy Policy• Web Navigation

WEB DESIGN

• Focus on Speed & Responsiveness

• Create Scenarios & Test Cases

• Select a Set of Users for Trial

COMPETITVE ANALYSIS

• Make a List of Competitors

• Evaluate Criteria:– Personalization– Consistency– Ease of Navigation

BUILD SITE CONTENT

• Create Content Inventory

• Determine Priority of Each Department

• Analyze Feasibility of Each Function

DEFINE SITE STRUCTURE

• Create Good Site Structure

• Explore Various Metaphors

• Define Architectural Blueprints

• Decide User Navigation

VISUAL DESIGN

• Use Layout Grid– Show icons, buttons, banners, etc.

• Establish Look & Feel of Site via Page Mock-ups

• Develop Web Personalization

WAYS TO BUILD A WEBSITE

• Storefront Building Service

• ISP (Web Hosting) Service

• Do It Yourself

STOREFRONT BUILDING SERVICE

• Offers Customized Online Store– Provide Web Address– Manage Web Traffic– Maintain Store on Web Servers

• Drawbacks – Lack of Personalization

ISP SERVICES

• Provide E-Commerce Software

• Offer Well-Versed In-Store building Technology

• Advantage – Good Customer Support

DO IT YOURSELF

• Requires Experience– Security– Web Traffic Management– Responsive Support– Full-Time Web Administration

• Benefits – Unlimited Upgrades & Customization

WEB NAVIGATION DESIGN

• Create User Profiles– Keep Human Factor as Part of the Design

• Use Scenarios– Help View Navigation Process

DESIGN TIPS

• Keep the Site Simple• Address the Problem the Website Needs to Solve• Enhance Response Time• Raise Transmission Speed• Focus on Content• Ensure Company’s Name Visible• Emphasis on Appearance• Allow Easy Return to Homepage

DESIGN CRITERIA

• Appearance

• Public Exposure

• Consistency

• Scalability

• Security

• Performance

• Navigation & Interactivity

APPEARANCE

• Is the Site Aesthetically Pleasing?

• Conduct Quality Assurance– Check the readiness of a website– Examine how easy it passes under the stress of a

Web production schedule

• Use a Style Guide – Ensure consistency within the site

CONSISTENCY

• Will the Website & Contents Appear the Same on Visitors’ Screens?

• Usage of HTML

• Provide Choice of Browser

SECURITY

• Protect from Hackers

• Critical – Website Access

• Knowledge of Developers

PERFORMANCE

• How Long Does It Take for the Page to Appear?

• Depend on Local Networking, Traffic Volume, Web Connection

• 45-second Timer

NAVIGATION & INTERACTIVITY

• How a Visitor Gets from One Page to Another

• Format Icons & Buttons

• Give out Function Descriptions of Each Icon

Website Evaluation & Usability Testing

ANATOMY OF A SITE

• Use of Colors

• Site Evaluation Criteria

• Web Personalization

USE OF COLORS

Color Psychological Effects

Red Power, energy, passion, danger

Blue Trust, conservative, security

Yellow Optimism, hope

White Purity, precision, innocence

Black Sophistication, mystery, elegance

SITE EVALUATION CRITERIA• Color

• Type & Shapes of Icons

• Page Content

• Service Offered

• Primary Focus

• Ancillaries

• Site Classification

SITE EVALUATION CRITERIA (Cont’d)

• Professionalism

• Speed

• Consistency

• Personalization

• Security

• Scalability

WEB PERSONALIZATION

• Cookies

• Collaborative-filtering Software

• Check Boxes

• User-based Personalization

WHAT MAKES A WEBSITE USABLE?

Sources What Users Are Seeking

Forrester Research •High-quality Content•Ease of Use•Quick to Download•Frequent Site Update

Spool’s Study •Information

Kahle’s Study •Specific Information

USABILITY TESTING GUIDELINES• Decide on a writing style & stick to it

• Give visitors what they are looking for

• Show class

• Keep the big picture in mind for usability

• Make the site easy to navigate

• Focus on content before graphics

USABILITY TESTING GUIDELINES (Cont’d)

• Make your text scannable

• Be careful about flashy marketing language

• Encourage visitor feedback

• Test, test & test!

Remember: Conciseness, Scanability & Objectivity

ROLE OF WEB ADMINISTRATOR

• Database Server

• Application Server

• Web Server

• Special-purpose Servers for Security

• Internet Bandwidth

• Internet Performance Status

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

Internet Network Architecture

Backbonee.g. High-Speed Backbone Network

operated by MCI

Network Access Points (NAPs)e.g. New York (Sprint)

Regional Networkse.g. AOL, AT&T

Regional ISPsi.e. Local Providers

User Levele.g. University / Corporate Networks

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

• An organization providing an entrance ramp to Internet

• ISPs offer:– Linking consumers & businesses to Internet– Payment system for online purchases– Monitoring & maintaining a customer’s website– Network management & system integration– Backbone access services for other ISPs

HOW ISPs WORK

• Web Site Infrastructure– Standby Electric Power– Redundant ‘Fault-Tolerant’ Servers– Redundant Communications Lines– One or More Firewalls

TYPES OF SERVICE PROVIDERS

• Internet Service Provider

• Application Service Provider

• Business Service Provider

• Wholesale Service Provider

TYPES OF WEB HOSTING SERVICES

• Dial-Up Access

• Developer’s Hosting

• Web Hosting

• Industrial Strength Hosting

HOW TO BECOME AN ISP

• Contract with a regional network providing bandwidth• Procure a leased communications line to one of the

company’s routers• Procure hardware & software to manage Internet

communication• Set up dial-in lines to connect users• Maintain enough manpower to manage ISP traffic &

deal with users

HOW TO CHOOSE AN ISP

• Bandwidth Size– E.g. High-speed T1 & T3 lines

• Connection Availability & Performance– Normal: 5 – 10MB

• Virtual Hosting

• E-mail Aliases

HOW TO CHOOSE AN ISP

• Stability & Staying Power

• Local Access

• Customer Service & Technical Support

• Reliability

• Price

ISP NEEDS FOR ONLINE MARKETING

• Register Domain Name

• Capture & Forward e-mail

• Host the Website

• Technical & Managerial Support

• On-the-road Support

WHAT IS A DOMAIN NAME?

• Unique Internet address

• Domain Name System (DNS) translates between IP address & URL

CYBER COMMANDMENTS OF WEBSITE DOMAIN NAMES

• Determine whether proposed domain name infringes any trademarks

• Determine whether proposed domain name dilutes any famous marks

• Obtain federal trademark registration of proposed domain name• Register proposed domain name with InterNIC• Get permission before linking to other websites• Watch for expanded top-level domain names & registries

PITFALLS FOR USING ISP

• Overcharging

• Domain Name Status

• Backup

• Contractual Language

Implementation and Maintenance

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

• Proper testing & readiness of website

• Reliability of technology

• Readiness of ISP to load website & handle traffic

• Security of lines & payment system

• Customer service staff training

• Readiness of fulfillment process with vendor’s warehouse

• Performance check of entire system before actual deployment

• Assignment of a Web team to monitor, maintain & upgrade the system

PROPER TESTING & READINESS OF WEBSITE

• Response time to inquiries

• Stress testing

• Recovery testing

• Human factor testing

• Staging testing

TEST PLAN

• Criteria for visitor testing

• Load website & prepare website procedure

• Website & system tests

• Procedure for making necessary corrections

TEST PLAN

• Syntax Errors– Violate rules of language in which website is

written

• Logic Errors– Deviations from a range of acceptability

• Website Testing vs. Total System Testing

• Visitor Acceptance Testing

QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Development of controls to ensure a quality website

• Emphasized in every stage of website development life cycle

QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Correctness

• Scalability

• Maintainability

• Reliability

• Optimum Performance

• Alpha Test vs. Beta Test

SITE PERFORMANCE ISSUES

• Merchant Server

• Applications Server

• Payment Processor

• Back-end Databases

DISASTER PLANNING & RECOVERY• Disaster Recovery Plan

– Contingency plan for resuming operations when a problem disrupts normal operations

– Identifies potential threats, prioritizes website & other applications, and devises safeguard to minimize losses in the event of a disaster

GOOD DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING

• Assessing website’s vulnerabilities via risk analysis• Reducing / preventing technical & operational risks

to online environment• Developing cost-effective solutions• Ensuring alternative Internet access modes• Providing disaster recovery procedures• Training e-commerce staff in disaster recovery

methods

RECOVERY PLANNING

• Backup– Redundancy– Mutual aid with another organization– Uninterruptible power supply

• In-house vs. Outsource

DISASTER/RECOVERY PLAN

• Appoint a competent team of representatives (ie - Web designer, IT representatives, and customer service staff)

• Prepare planning

• Draft a disaster/recovery manual

STAFF TRAINING

• E-learning– Web-based training– Mostly outsourced– Less pressure on IT department– Hard to monitor

IMPLEMENTATION MANAGEMENT

• Project Management– Estimating resource requirements– Scheduling tasks & events– Providing for training and site preparation– Selecting qualified staff & supervising their work– Monitoring project’s program– Documenting– Periodic evaluating– Contingency planning

IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES

• Performance

• Personnel

• Integrating front-end commerce site with back-end fulfillment vendors

• Maintenance & enhancements

• Post-implementation planning

IMPLEMENTATION CONSIDERATIONS

• Ensure each staff knows his/her job

• Sell all participants on importance of working together as a team

• Plan ahead on how to solve predictable problems

• Establish a specific procedure for handling routine problems

MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES

• Check for website operational errors, links & contents

• Web designers use a syntax-checking program to catch errors before the website is fully operational

• Eliminate all dead links

• Check fax & e-mail orders

MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES (Cont’d)

• Process invoices for items that are readily available

• Use e-mails for communications with customers, vendors, and employees

• Upgrade or redesign website

MAINTENANCE CONSIDERATIONS

• Make website attractive

• Minimize load times

• Text should be displayed quickly

• Verify ordering information

• Encourage customer feedback

• Maintain & upgrade technology

MAINTENANCE CONSIDERATIONS (Cont’d)

• Ensure a reliable invoicing system

• Ensure easy to maintain inventory system

• Monitor & evaluate server reports

• Watch disk usage

• Bandwidth consumption

MONITORING WEBSITE TRAFFIC

• Dates & times of the hits• Visitor’s login name• Visitor’s IP address• Visitor’s host• Request• Name of the host• Cookies• Number of pageviews