Section 3.1. Defining the Scope

3.1. Defining the Scope

The scope of a web site is the extent of its content, the range of ground that the web site covers. A web site's scope can be enormous. Amazon truly lives up to its name, with millions of items in its catalog. But most web sites aren't nearly this epic, nor does anyone expect them to be. Bigger isn't necessarily better. The secret is to choose the scope that fits, neither too big nor too small but just right for your content. You want to figure out what sort of ground you need to cover to present your content intelligibly.

TECHTALK

The scope of a web site is the extent of its content.

A good way to start is to consider two questions: what are the goals of your site and who is the audience? The first question asks "why does this site exist?" The second question asks "who is likely to care?"

3.1.1. Stating the Goals

In the abstract, the goal of every web site builder is to organize the site's content in a useful and intelligible way. It's time to put this theory into practice. What are the specific goals of your particular site? What tasks does your web site need to accomplish? What, through it, do you want to say? You probably have several ideas about this already, so take out a fresh sheet of paper and jot down some notes.

TIP

As you begin to list the goals of your site, it's perfectly natural to repeat yourself. You're brainstorming, so let the words and ideas flow. After you finish, go back over your list, and look for items that are similar in intent or meaning. If you can, combine these into a single entry. If you can't, then the goals really are separate items, and leave them exactly as they are.

If you're building a site for your business or organization, your list of goals might look like this:

• To introduce potential clients to our business: who we are and what we do

• To tell potential clients how we can help them

• To provide a detailed list of our products and services

• To announce new products and initiatives (e.g., a press room)

• To give our contact information to potential clients

• To generate leads for our sales reps

The goals for a fan site about comic books aren't necessarily the same:

• To give monthly reviews of my favorite comic books

• To summarize the most recent storylines for people who may have missed an issue

• To post bits of news about comic books and upcoming comic book movies that I happen to pick up

• Tips from me and eventually other visitors about where to find rare comics at decent prices

• Gems from the bargain bin: recommendations for great older comics that have been overlooked by most collectors

Even at this early stage, you can tell that the tone of the sites is going to be different, just by comparing the list of goals. The first site means serious businesscompetitors beware. The second site exists solely for entertainment, both for the builder as well as the audience. Where the first is tactical, the second is relaxed, but not so relaxed that it lapses into disorganization.

All web sites, regardless of content, should include the following among their goals:

• To provide a way for visitors to contact the administrator of the site

This lifeline to your visitors is essential. First, you need to be on top of any miscellaneous bugs, glitches, and technical problems that might crop up. You'll test your web site thoroughly before you launch it, but no amount of testing can account for every possible combination of software and hardware that your visitors might use. If your site is performing poorly for some people, they'll let you know about it, and you can take measures to fix it. Second, direct visitor contact is the best way to judge the effectiveness of your site. Visitor comments help you to figure out what sections of your site are the most popular and which aren't making much of an impact. Based on this analysis, if your site isn't meeting one of its primary goals, you can see about improving matters.

TIP

A great way to encourage feedback is to set aside a special page of your site for visitor comments. Post the comments that you receive as well as your responses. If visitors feel like they're contributing to your site, they'll be more apt to participate.

Don't feel like you have to set up a toll-free number or hire a team of customer service reps in order to stay connected with your visitors. A simple email address is sufficient in most cases. Just make sure that you read the email that your web site generates and listen to what your visitors are saying. If you're able to send brief but personalized replies, that's all the better. It helps to foster the community spirit that enables your site to grow.

3.1.2. Identifying the Audience

All webmasters secretly dream that their web sites will appeal to everyone, but this isn't necessarily the best measure of success. The key to creating a successful web site is to find that percentage, however small, of those who are most receptive to your goals, and then do everything you can to cater to these people. The Web isn't a single, homogenous, monolithic market waiting for the right person to come along and exploit it. It's a tapestry of every conceivable niche. The site that identifies a clear, specific audience is in a better position for longevity than the site that attempts to dominate every niche on the Web.

Advertisers, marketers, and other money types spend considerable time, effort, and capital identifying their customers in microscopic detail. If you have access to this sort of information, by all means, use it. If you don't have these resources, don't worry about it. Most site builders identify their audiences without extensive market research and CIA-caliber customer profiling. You start out with some intelligent hunches. If you're building a web site for your business or organization, your audience includes your existing customers, along with the customers you'd like to attract. For a personal site, the perfect template for the typical audience member is you and others like you. Once your site begins to generate feedback, you may refine your assumptions about your audience and direct the growth of your site accordingly.

Defining the likely audience from the get-go helps you to figure out the most effective ways of achieving the goals of your site. It's Customer Service 101 in action: your particular audience comes to your site with a certain set of expectations, and you, the site builder, aim to please. Take the average businessperson. Businesspeople like charts and graphs. Your cubicle or office is probably surrounded by them. Why should this be? Charts and graphs are part of the language of business. If you can't get through to your boss in any other way, try plotting your point of view on some kind of curve, and watch the doors of perception swing open.

It stands to reason, then, that if your audience includes businesspeople, the content of your web site needs to resonate with those who speak the language of business. And if one of the goals of your web site happens to be, "To tell prospective clients how we can help them," see what you can do about getting some charts and graphs on your site. You don't want to be as flippant as that, though. Posting charts and graphs haphazardly, just for the sake of having them, is pandering, not catering, and your audience will see right through it. Always go back to your list of goals. Where would charts and graphs be most useful for your audience? Where would they make the most sense on your site?

TIP

Just as your audience helps you to determine the content of your site, the audience also helps you to figure out what not to include. Charts and graphs probably won't play as well to an audience of comic book collectors, unless you're posting them for laughs, in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. Similarly, loud, flashy, video-game-style Flash animations may induct your comic book site to the ranks of coolness, but they will probably drive away business for insurance products.

As you think through the expectations of your audience, notice what begins to happen: the scope of your site comes more clearly into focus. You get a feel for the area that your web site needs to cover, which is precisely where you want to be.