| |
Outlining the opinions of the interactive industry on what they best way to do their job is might be a bit
difficult to do, at least comprehensively.
But there are two specific points to look at:
First, know that industry professionals exist. The web is relatively new, but there are people and companies
who have been working with it for years, for client after client. And that experience, even if it is separated out
from any data or resource, is invauluable. People who have tried to build quality interactive products for different
people with different purposes over and over will have "street" data that you can get nowhere else. Consult such people
if you can. If you can't, go to their sites, look at their clients, find one that matches your purposes, and practice
selective theft. It might get you going in the right direction.
Second, while each company and each individual may have different ways in which they approach a site, and problems
they feel are bigger than others, they all tend to agree on one thing: The Why. Which is to say, the driving force,
the reason behind the site, etc. The first question any professional agency asks upon meeting with a potential
client for the first time is "Why?" Chances are, if the client is not will to provide or investigate a detailed
enough answer to this question, the agency will simply refuse service.
The Yale manual of Web Style, produced by the Yale Center for Advanced Instructional Media, begins by stating, "The
first step in designing a Web site is to make sure you have a defined set of goals...careful planing and a clear sense
of purpose are the keys to success..." And so it is.
|
|
