Where do you start?

1. Identify your target audiences
    (primary and secondary)

• What do they know?

• What do you want them to know?

  
  
  

• How are they going to access your project?
  
  
• What kind of equipment do they have?

2. Write a statement of purpose (goals)

• Write a general statement of the subject matter

• Describe what the project should accomplish

• How was the material presented previously?

• What are the advantages of putting this information on the Web?
  

  it will reach more people
  it will be interactive
  

• How will the project be used?
  

  support for teaching?
  source of information?
  independent learning tool?
  instruction?
  for printing?

Objectives are described with action verbs.

For example:

After this workshop, the participants will be able to:

• write documents using HTML

• add a background to their project

• include a transparent gif to their project

• conduct an efficient search on the Internet

• resize their graphics

• adjust brightness and contrast of their images

Organize your objectives in categories

For example:

HTML

• write documents using HTML
  
• add a background to their project
  
• *include a transparent gif to their project

Photoshop

• resize their graphics
  
• adjust brightness and contrast
  
• *include a transparent gif to their project

Search

• conduct an efficient search on the Internet

Human Need for Organization

"Man is the great pattern-maker and pattern perceiver. No matter how primitive his situation, no matter how tormented, he cannot live in a world of chaos."

Edmund Carpenter

For information about sites structures:
Yale University School of MedicineWeb Style Guide: Site Structure

Example of sequence structure: Adobe

Structure of The Biology Project

Home Page

• The most visited page of your site

• Establishes the identity of the site

• Should be attractive and informative

• Ideal place to display content and links

Mayo
Campus Health Center
UCLA
Thriveonline

Yale University School of MedicineWeb Style Guide: Safe dimensions for Web page graphics

Frames
NYU
Rough & Tumble
J.Lambroso
Marine Discovery
Buttons

• Establish a basic layout pattern

  Order in which readers see page:

  0. large masses of shapes and colors
  1. graphic elements
  2. text

• Determine where the major elements will appear on the page
  (page title, subtitles, and navigation)

• Attract attention with visual contrast

• Convey a sense of organization

• Create layout and navigation patterns that are consistent and predictable