BMATWT 452 - Building Materials Computing

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Term Project

Business to Business - Website Design

You must develop a CONTENT LADEN website that provides USEFUL INFORMATION for some targetted group of building materials purchasers. Examples include:

• A manufacturer of Engineered Wood I-Joists - providing technical information to their dealers or builders
• A wholesaler of Building Materials, providing links to their manufacturer-supplier catalogs
• A buying cooperative of Building Materials retailers offering services through their website
• A wholesaler of lumber trying to match mills with retail lumber store buyers

 Your Project will proceed in 5 Phases:

Site Strategy and Customer analysis	20 points	Due March 1
Site Map Outline	20 points	March 15
Website Design	40 points	April 26
Website Posting-Uploading	10 points	May 3
Website Presentation	10 points	May 1 - 15

The website must be professional, attractive, and contain useful and interesting information. This requires a MINIMUM of 15 CONTENT RICH PAGES

For example pages might include:

• Home Page, with logical links to other pages on the site.
• Content-Information Pages (as appropriate)
• A Links page (connecting related sites)
• Contact information and hyperlink(s) to yourself for questions or to find additional information.
• A Frequently Asked Questions Page.
• A What's New Page - to highlight timely information.

 Each of these pages must be interlinked so that the Website visitor can easily navigate the website.

Phase 1: Site Strategy & Customer Analysis - 20 Points.

Be clear about who you are, and who the business customers visiting your site are. Visit the Art and Zen of Websites

Answer the 9 Questions below. Your answers should be well thought out and cover approx. 2 typewritten pages 250-500 words.

Why do you want a Website? and Who is your audience?

1. What is the purpose of my site?
2. What does my organization hope to get out of it?
3. What is the mission or purpose of my organization?
4. What are the short- and long-term goals of the site?
5. Why will people come to my site? What will they need?
6. What kinds of content, including services, will interest my target audience(s)?

7. Who is the current audience for our programs?

8. Would our current audience benefit from and appreciate having access to our organization via the Web?

9. Who do we wish we could reach with our information that we currently do not reach?

Phase 2: Site Map Outline - 20 Points

Art and Zen of Websites

1) Sketch out -free hand, or electronically what your Home Page will look like - What links

2) Identify your Level 1 pages (those linked to the Home page), Provide names for them and brief descriptions of the content that each page will present.

3) Identify and name your Level 2 Pages - pages linked to your level 1 pages) - these pages contain more detailed information

4) Provide a "Site Map" that shows the linkages of all your pages.

Phase 3: Website Design - 40 Points

Art and Zen of Websites

Given your site strategy (Phase 1) and your Site Map(Phase 2) build each of the content/function rich pages you have defined. Use Macromedia Dreamweaver, or another functional Web Authoring Software for designing your pages.

 You will be required to present your Website to the class during the presentation period . The purpose of the presentation is to explain the features and benefits of your website for your business customers.

Phase 4: Website Posting - Uploading - 10 Points

Refer to OIT's Help page for Setting Up Your Web Space

Upload your Site and DE-BUG it. Check all links to see that they function properly. Review the APPEARANCE of each page, preferably on a number of Browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Safari), and a number of computer "Platforms" (PC and Mac). EDIT the pages that need FIXING.

Phase 5: Website Presentation - 10 Points

Be prepared for a 5 minute presentation of your website, including:

1) A narrated "Walk Through" of the Site

2) A description of who your intended Customer is.

3) A description of what the site PROVIDES for this Customer that would encourage them to visit it.

4) Point out what your Favorite Page is and Why.

5) Describe any difficulties you had in creating the site.

  For further study the following website may be of use to you in understanding Business to Business website design.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/mainstreet/curriculum/index.html - Univ. of Minnesota - Electronic Commerce Curriculum