Website Requirements

This document is a result of our experience in creating business web sites in the Small Business industry. Please use it to develop ideas about your own business web site, and how you could best quickly get your business on the web. The Internet is Waiting!!!   Thank You TechOSS.com

Each business web site must have at a bare minimum a “home-page”.

A home page functions like the front-entrance to your company; it’s the first thing visitors see and it should provide a degree of information which is useful and coherently presented for your customer’s ease of access. Generally, a business home-page will link to at least four secondary pages, such as (1) business background or about info; (2) products/service information and (3) business contact information, with email. Additional pages as needed such as a page highlighting any current special offers.

Additionally, a particularly useful feature for a business-oriented website to include is an “express order” page. This page can be as basic as a set of directions for “how to place an order” or as powerful as a secure online order placement program. Some call it one stop shop.

One of the nicest features of a web site is its ability to integrate text and full-color graphics in a dynamic and appealing format. Generally, graphics which enhance a business web site include logos, artwork from labels or boxes, high-contrast photos of products or locations, and icons. We encourage you to provide as much graphic material as possible so that we can feature visual elements throughout your web site. Ideally, graphics should be provided electronically (in TIFF, J-PEG, or GIF format) but we can scan existing images from cleanly printed marketing material.

A web site pages will be linked logically, enabling your customer to navigate through your virtual business headquarters in order to get general or detailed information, get in touch with a salesperson or place an order with ease. A web site is a strategic resource for your company because your customers can access timely information whenever they want it, enabling them to enjoy the process of interacting with your business even when no one in your organization is actually attending to the customer at a particular moment.

The basic content of your web site will resemble the following outline. We will create your business web site in a way that links content correctly and makes it easy and pleasurable for your customers to access your information.

Be Aware TechOSS PROVIDES FORMS THAT CAN HELP STIMULATE YOUR THINKING.

Pages

 Website Pages

•  Home -Front Page - get a statement / famous saying / some graphic or picture that represents the website owner or business.  This page will feature your corporate logo. If possible (see logo).  This page will contain basic contact information, includes complete name of company, mailing address, telephone, fax, and email address (see email). You can also include a slogan which generally appears on your merchandise. For example: “Success Is Mandatory-Now”.
   
•  About Page (get bio 2 paragraphs minimum)  - The core of this page is a brief history of your company or the owner and specialties.. This profile could include years in business, relevant regional strength, where located, specialize in etc. Your profile should be a few paragraphs in length. It can include a picture of website owner and generally provides basic text that tells your story.
   
•  Products/Service Page – How your product section appears will depend considerably on the type and quantity of your product lines. Think of the first product page as a combination introduction and index to your complete array of products. You will want to provide a general overview for each of your product families. The succeeding product pages will provide more detailed information on each of your products. This information will generally include the name of the product, some information about each type with more detailed description. This page will contain a picture and a Paypal link if selling product also. See Paypal and pictures below.
   
•  Contact Us Page - need telephone number - name to call - hours of operation This page will serve as an online directory for your company. It is recommended that you also include complete customer service contact information on this page. what is their guarantee - return policy IE 20 days 30 days etc

Cross Page Items

• Pictures - need at least 1 -2 pictures per product - who will take pictures? If you provide a picture that is too small, it may not appear clean and crisp once is has been enlarged. Take pictures with minimal distractions in the background.

   

• Logo - What colors are in the logo?  Are they the same theme of the website? Ideally, the logo should be no larger than 3 inches square; we can shrink a larger image. If you provide an image which is too small, however, it may not appear clean and crisp once is has been digitized and enlarged.  

   

• Color Scheme (2 colors - may come from logo  design if they like their logo colors). For shades of shades, go to a website and identify color or send web link so we can identify color. Remember there are many, many shades of purple and lavender.

   

• Shopping cart and Payment Gateway - example if its simple and its free - get a Paypal Account - go to
  www.paypal.com   Sign up for an account - you will need to get bank certified - contact TechOSS for next steps of setup.

• Email - need email name before @ sign -  anyname@domain_name.com

Updates to Pages

•  Who will update the website
  • You do at no costs

  • We do at additional costs

     

•  What will they update
  • Text only

  • Picture changes

  • Header footers

  • Other???

     

•  Why will they update because of :
  • Product changes

  • Daily sales

  • On a whim

  • Customer special

  • Other???

     

•  Where - where will they do updates?
  • your computer

  • my computer

  • library computers

  • friends computer

  • Other???

     

•  When will they want to update?
  • daily

  • weekly

  • monthly

  • quarterly

     

•  How will they update pages? - options
  • FrontPage

  • NVU

  • Word /notepad

Additional Costs above Basic Website

Not everyone wants to update their website. However there are costs to update pages, especially if the product and service lines change a lot.

         Training Time –

We Train – Almost anyone can be taught to do simple updates. They have to have basic computer knowledge. Training is $20 dollar an hour.

Or a package training program can be designed not to exceed $100 to ensure person has basic website update capabilities.

They have to have basic computer knowledge, get correct software and have their own computer to eliminate costs. 

        Page Update

Depends on Selected Package

   Pictures - pictures take on varying degrees of difficulty.

Are they bringing in product for pictures to be taken of?

Are they requesting someone to come out and take pictures

Are they taking the pictures themselves?

If they take pictures at what quality? The higher the better?

Does customer have a digital camera?

Costs to be determined. Est. 20 an hour for local jobs.

We have a large collection of STOCK Photos. We can supply them at a very low rate. Contact Us.

·         Logos - Costs are determined by the amount of time required to design one and modify to get web ready.

Provide logo in electronic form (TIFF, J-PEG or GIF) or in high-quality hard-copy form.

 Logo design can be done by us. We will use our logo design services to help you. Costs are determined after initial contact.  Contact Us.

Some folks can select a logo from our logo collection for modification to their specific needs.    

You can view our logo collection above and design their version of a logo.

Website Look and Feel – some people like to create from scratch, some want to use a template.

Customer can purchase a template from anywhere and we can modify to suit their needs. Costs are the cost of the template.

Customer can review and purchase directly from techoss. 

Customer can ask us to purchase and download for them. 
 

Additional Links to Help Stimulate Your Thinking.

 http://webhosting.techoss.com

Domain  Names

Web Site Document Checklist

Use the following “checklist” to organize the information that TechOSS will use to build your web site.

Checklist of Core Documents for Your Business Web Site

Business Logo (should be in high-contrast on printed material or on disk)

Official Business Address

Sales Contact Directory.. This should include information about how your sales people can be contacted.. Be sure to include additional EMAIL addresses if applicable.

Product Family Overview.

Product /Service Pages.. These are “specification” sheets on each of your products, which include marketing info. You can group many products on a single page, or have different pages for each product. Case and packing specifications are useful. If available, please include high-contrast labels, case artwork, item icons, and/or photographs.

Pricing Instructions. We can include all different types of pricing information. If you elect to provide pricing on any items, we will arrange a system for you to update your own prices as required. We can also help you post a “special offer” sheet. Initially we need to know your thoughts about posting prices, and we can suggest the appropriate web site design.

Express Order Instructions.

Resource Section..

Supplemental Marketing Material. These are the documents which describe factors that promote buying, i.e. seasonal information, sources of product, handling procedures, and quality-assurance standards. Graphics can include items such as maps, an icon or photos.