If you find that none of our existing packages meet your needs then our Website Design department, www.3legswebdesign.com, can produce a custom website solution tailored to your specific requirements. In order to be best able to advise you or provide a quote then we would like to see what is known as a design brief for your requirements. Below is an outline of the sort of things that this should contain.
Overview
The Overview should outline your broad requirements. If you already have a website that needs updating then this should be mentioned here. As should whether you require the website to integrate to any specific service, either in-house or third party.
Aims and Objectives
This section should detail what you want your website to achieve and what specific features you require within the website in order to achieve this - such as a shopping cart, online payment, document downloads, photo galleries etc.
Audience
If your website is to be targeted at a specific audience, this information can be essential in aiding further decisions relating to the project.
Design Specification
The Design Specification covers the general look of the website. At 3 Legs Limited we have many design options available. We need to know what your requirements are. Our web designers will interpret these requirements quite literally, so it is important to be as clear as possible. Some points to consider include:
- Do you have a current design look that the website should fit into.
- What colour scheme, typeface, logo etc needs to be included
- Are there any specific design elements that your site should (or should not) include such as photos, banner advertising, flash animation
If you have any sketches, screenshots or drawings of the type of design that you are looking for, then please include these. It is also helpful to include the addresses of sites you particularly like (or dislike) in this part of the document. This will help our designers to get a feel for what you are trying to achieve.
Functionality Specification
This covers what you want within the website and what makes up the pages within it. It is helpful to draw up a draft site structure as part of this section (this can be done quite simply as a basic flow-chart with boxes for pages and lines representing the links between them). This will help you visualise the various pages within the website and how they need to link with each other. Once you have this, you should write a precis of each page detailing what will be included on it, paying particular attention to what photos, images and animations etc. are to be used on the pages within the website. If any additional functionality such as shopping carts, photo galleries etc. is required, then this information should also be provided.
You should ensure that your Functionality Specification includes the following:
- Navigation;
- Media requirements (just text and pictures or animation, virtual reality and sound?);
- Interactive elements;
- Specific functions (e.g. 'Shopping Cart' or 'Photo Gallery');
Content Specification
As you build up a picture of your website, you will be making decisions about the content and media on the various pages. In order to accurately cost the project we need to know which of this content you will be able to provide directly and which of it you need us to produce for you. Since content production can be one of the most costly parts of creating a website, it is important that you inform us - in detail - of everything that you need us to produce.
Technical Specification
If you wish to include any specific functions within the pages of the website then these need to be fully detailed, so we know how you expect them to work and any specific features that they must have. For example, if the website features a shopping cart then we need to know things such as where the goods can be shipped to, how delivery is to be calculated, how payments are to be processed and so on.
Budget
Your budget is a key factor in the website you receive. If you are working to a specific budget then please include details of what this is. Depending on budgetary restrictions it may be necessary to change elements of your design brief to bring the project in at that price.
Timetable
We often find ourselves juggling conflicting priorities, and web development timetables are highly prone to slippage. In order to properly plan your project, it is essential we establish a precise timetable to work to and know by when you need your project to be completed.
It is also important to establish clear lines of communication from the outset of the project. Having a single point of contact helps facilitate this, as does the inclusion of full contact details including an e-mail address. E-mail is ideal as a primary method of communication due its speed and ability to include documentation.
It is vital that you include all requirements no matter how small they might seem. We can only quote based on what we are told. Any new features or functionality will incur additional cost. If we are notified of these new requirements too late they may not be able to be included without adding significant cost and delay to the project.
It is important that you provide as much detail as possible with this document. This will allow our technical staff to analyse your requirements and develop a solution.
