Creating Your Website, Step-by-Step

Step 6: Incorporate "Must Haves"

There are 6 "must haves" for every website:
1. Notice of sponsorship/branding
  - People need to know that this is official content, sponsored by a legitimate organization.
  - Usability studies have shown that "branding" with a name, an icon, or even a simple statement of sponsorship on every page lends credibility to your website.
2. Contact information: name, address, and phone number of your organization
  - People need to know who you are
  - With one look at the front page of your website, they need to know who you are, where you are, and what you do.
3. Privacy statement - tell readers what you'll do with any information they send you via email or give you via online work processes
  - Will you be collecting their email addresses and selling them to a vendor who might then send them spam mail?
  - Will you be using their email addresses to create your own mailing list so that you can send them future updates?
  - You need to tell them exactly what you'll do with the personal information they give you
  - Recent surveys on internet use reveal that the top concern about people who use the internet is privacy - so you need to address those concerns right up front
  - Feel free to "borrow" the privacy statement from HUD
4. Feedback mechanism (e.g., "Comments? Questions? E-mail us!")
  - Your audience needs to be able to let you know about problems and offer suggestions
5. Date your content
  - Either "date of last update" or "content current as of…"
  - Very important that people know how current the content is
6. Some way for people to find what they want: a search function, site index, or site map
  - Search - commonly used, but often not productive, especially on large sites
  - Site index - table of contents, normally alphabetical
  - Site map - snapshot of your top 2-3 levels, on one page