4 

Plan 

Assess your Web site   

The first question to ask when beginning a Web project is,  Should we revise our existing 

Web site or build a new one?  Building a new Web site is something most Web-savvy 

organizations have done every year to 18 months. For instance, both Microsoft.com and 

Sun.com have been rebuilt several times since they were first launched.  

 To determine if your organization should build a new Web site, evaluate your current 

site, and compare it to effective sites built by other organizations. 

Evaluate your current site 

Evaluate your organization s current Web site by asking these questions: 

Is it consistent? 

Is the site s look consistent with your organization s corporate identity: brochures, ads, 

letterhead, business cards, etc? Is the look of each page consistent with the look of every 

other page in the site? 

A site that looks consistent with an organization s identity lets people know they ve come to 

the right site. A site that looks consistent from section to section provides familiar 

surroundings to people when they click through it. 

Is it well organized? 

Is the site logically organized into no more than seven main sections? 

People naturally process information in groups of three to seven, so sites that present content 

in  bite size  chunks make people feel comfortable and in control. 

Is navigation clear? 

Does the site incorporate a navigational system that shows people  You are here,  as well 

as where they can go? 

When using a Web site most people want to find specific information quickly. Clear 

navigation helps them do that. 

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