Proposed Framework
A. User Interface (UI):
UI determines the visual elements (e.g. menus, buttons, icons, etc.) that are used to interact with the website.
UI elements usually fall into one of the following four categories:
- Input Controls: Allow users to input information into the system
- Navigational Components: Help users move around the website, referred to as navigation menus
- Informational Components: Share information with users – text, images, videos
- Containers: They hold related content together and provide the building blocks of the website
B. User Experience (UX):
UX refers to the interactivity, look, and feel of the website: The overall user experience as they interact with the various aspects of the website.
It includes web applications such as online forms, streaming video, social media, and a host of other desired functionalities.
C. Initial Sections & Functionalities List
- Primary Content Areas – Header, Body, Footer
- Access Restrictions – Organized by the target audiences (public, existing clients, prospective clients, investors)
- Forms
- File Upload/Download Options
- File Archive
D. Additional Functionalities TBD
- Blog*
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Misc. Marketing Strategies & Activities (Email List, etc.)
- Etc.
*A blog, short for weblog, is a frequently updated web page used for commentary or business content(company & industry news, etc.)
Key differences between website pages and blog posts include:
1) People come to website pages for information about a company
2) People come to blog posts for information about a topic. – Website pages are more likely to stay constant, whereas blog posts are published on an ongoing basis.