Classes/Class Outlines -- Best Practices for Your Web Site

Class Outlines

Best Practices for Your Web Site
Thurs., March 4 and 18 9-11 a.m.
Wed., May 5 and 12 6-8 p.m.

Overview

30 seconds. That’s how long you have before visitors to your website decide whether to stay or move on to your competitors. Learn how you can improve your site (without necessarily changing your graphic design), and turn visitors into customers.

In the first meeting, we’ll look at sites that work, and ones that don’t. You’ll learn what to look for and how to assess your website. You’ll review a list of research-tested best practices for site structure, navigation, content and design. Before the second meeting, you’ll assess your own site using a checklist.

In the second meeting, you’ll bring your completed checklist, discuss your findings, and develop a prioritized list of changes that will help your site produce the results you want.

Audience

Business owners and managers. Marketing, communications and web managers at organizations of any size.

Outline

FIRST CLASS MEETING

Why best practices matter

• “Don’t make me think”

• Conventions, familiarity

How best practices have been developed

• Research-based

• What the vast majority of other sites do

Sources of best practices findings

Review of best practices list and definition of

• Site architecture

• Navigation

• Content

• Design

SECOND CLASS MEETING

Discussion of students’ assessments of their own sites

Prioritizing tasks: what the priorities are

Students prioritize their lists

Discussion

Conclusion