Site Requirements and Architecture
Whether your are attempting to build your own site or contracting someone to do it, you first need to compile all the materials you will use for the content of the site. In the web design world, these materials are known as assets. These assets will expedite the design process and keep the designer organized through the build. For your convenience, we have put together a list that you can use as a guide (each list stands to differ based on the type of site you are building).
Site Breakdown:
Meta Tags
There is an area on each web page known as the "head". This area is invisible to the public and is reserved for hidden META tags, which determine settings for your site and textual content that the search engines may use to help qualify your site for ranking. While there are many specialized tags for specific uses with different types of sites, we have listed the tags here that all sites have in common, no matter what the industry or use.
Title ~ The title of your site. Should not be more than 25 words.
Example: Welcome to Snap on Tools.com!
Description ~ Description of your business. Should be no more than 4 sentences.
Example: The best tools money can buy since 1995.
Keywords ~ Words people may type to find you in a search engine. Limit is about 25 key words.
Example: Tools, Snap on Tools, snapontools.com, plastic tools, Plastic Tools Los Angeles
Copyright ~ Helps cover your site in an implicit copyright.
Example: Copyright © 2010 Snap On Tools, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
When you are finished, your actual META tags will look like this:
<title>Welcome to Snap on Tools.com!</title>
<meta name="Description" content="The best tools money can buy since 1995." />
<meta name="keywords" content="Tools, Snap on Tools, snapontools.com, plastic tools" />
<meta name="copyright" content="Copyright © 2010 Snap On Tools, Inc., All Rights Reserved." />
Navigation Menu Items
Nav menu items vary depending on your business, but most sites have these in common.
Home ~ Introduces your site and business.. The home page usually has specials or current events.
About ~ A brief history of the company or mission statement
Services ~ Services your business provides.
Gallery ~ Can be a Client list, Photo Gallery, Videos or portfolio.
Resources ~ Links, Partners, Affiliates, Downloads, PDF Library or Banner Art.
Press ~ Articles, Media, Blogs or links to published works related to your site.
Contact ~ Business name, mailing address, phones, emails, contact form, maps or directions.
Content
Your content is the most valuable part of your site. By definition, the content can be Text, Images, Audio FIles, Videos, Flash or any other media form that your viewers may see when they log on. Most pages should have around 250 to 500 words to give passers by a sense of Who, What, Where , When and Why. Who is who you are, what is the product(s) or service(s) you provide, Where is your contact page (unless you are only in cyberspace), When is if your business is seasonal or for a limited time and Why is usually your Mission Statement.
You should provide all text in it's most basic form, with no formatting, as all formatting has to be removed before placing it on a web page. If you have specific layouts in mind, a copy with example formatting can be provided on Word or some other Rich Text document format.
As far as images, the web likes .jpg, .gif, .png the best. Anything else must be converted to these forms to be visible on the web.
Audio, videos and other media requirements are beyond the scope of this document and should be discussed with your designer.
Email Addresses
A sign of a legitimate business are the email addressees. If a business uses public mail like Yahoo, GMail or AOL, it pretty much states to your potential customers that you are using free, temporary resources for email. Ask your self this; Do you do your banking from with someone pushing a cart around or in a big stone building. The fact is, public email is subject to be audited and read, based on it's content. Your company's email is not. It is only subject to being scanned when in transit.
Please free to contact us with general questions about Site Requirements,
7 days a week from 9AM to Midnight at: at 310.458.8080.
Tech-support is available 9am-12am, 7 days a week. Call 310.458.8080. 
