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Research Site Ideas

Gather competitive intelligence by researching "best practice" and competitors' websites to see what benefits and features they use that you may want to apply to your site. When you have finished your review of best practice sites and studied your competitors' site, answer the strategy planning questions at the end of this section.

  • "Best Practices" Sites - Start with sites that may not be a competitor to your business, but contain site benefits and features that you might want to borrow and apply to your eBusiness. For example, if you plan to offer online shopping and purchasing on your site, go to the web sites of successful online retailers - like Amazon.com, REI.com and LandsEnd.com - and see the features they have on their sites.When you visit these sites, pay attention to the content, design aspects of the site, and the functions it includes. Use this checklist to study and evaluate the site.

Content

Design Aspects

Functionality
 Contact specifics
(phone, address, e-mail, etc.) 		 Color
(bold or subtle, lots or sparingly applied) 		 Security
 Product descriptions, illustrations, spec's, buying instructions, shipping instructions Layout (cluttered or easy on the eye) Shopping Cart
Columns Navigation approach
(easy to follow or complicated; fast or slow) 		Chatrooms
Interviews Graphics (heavy or light) "Welcome back" feature to greet previous visitors
Testimonials Innovative use of links Downloadable text
Sponsors Other... Online customer support
Company   Interactive features
  • Competitor Sites - Next, take a look at the sites of your actual competitors. Complete the chart below:

Competitor

Key Content Features

Key Design Features

Key Site Functions

Features to Apply
         
         
         
         
         
         

Answer these questions to describe important site benefits and features you plan to incorporate into your web site:
  • What are the 3-5 content features and benefits I want to consider for my site?
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________

  • What are my top 3-5 design features and benefits?
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________

    • _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________
    _______________________________________________

You probably don't have complete or "perfect" answers for Steps 1-4 yet - that's understandable. However, if you left any of those steps incomplete, then you need to stay within the planning stage before moving to Step 5, Create Your Preliminary Project Plan. A successful project plan will be built from those key decision areas.

 

 
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