|  | | | Chapter 4 - Planning the Web Site | | | byGareth Downes-Powellet al. | | | Wrox Press 2003 | | | Every web site begins its life as a set of particular instructions and requirements, otherwise known as a brief. Some clients prefer to give only a basic indication of what they want, without elaborating too much on the detailed aspects of the site itself. Others will provide a brief so comprehensive that little more information is required before work can commence. Of course there are advantages and disadvantages with both kinds of brief, but it is your job as a web designer to ensure that your customer is delighted with the final result. The Dreamweaver Hotel, our example site, is no different in this respect. The following brief summarizes particular requirements that the web site's design and functionality should completely satisfy. -
Each page in the site should open quickly in the browser. -
The site should be compatible with all major browsers. -
The web site's relative design and complexity should reflect the fact that the hotel is small and family-run. -
The client likes the prudent use of white space, but insists that the hotel's color scheme, orange black and white, be employed throughout, to be sympathetic to the 'Corporate Image'. -
Visitors should be able to check current availability of rooms, according to specified criteria (Grade, Room Type, and Arrival and Departure dates). -
Visitors should at all times be allowed to amend or cancel their bookings. -
Hotel Staff must be able to retrieve a list of bookings at any time through an Administration Area. -
The Duty Manager must be able to manage Administration Area Access for Hotel Staff. -
The booking system must be able to integrate with the current billing system, possibly so that in the future a business customer with an account can check their balance. -
Each page of the site should be of uniform and distinctive design. -
The site should contain the following types of content: -
Hotel Information and Brief History. -
Travel Information, including appropriate local area maps. -
Room information, detailing the differing facilities of each room based on grade, or type of room. -
Contact Information for the hotel, including Telephone and Fax numbers, e-mail address, and hotel's address. As you can see, this brief isn't overly complicated, though it does make specific demands on the design and functionality of the web site itself. This is more than enough to start planning the site and developing an initial design concept. Some areas of the brief may require additional information, particularly regarding rooms and booking information. |
