Lesson 1

Planning is of paramount importance to the design and deployment of a website, for it is the blueprint that directs all subsequent activities. As with any form of project management, a clear, well-structured plan provides a roadmap to success and serves as the bedrock on which effective, efficient websites are built. It is the cornerstone of creating an engaging, user-friendly digital presence that aligns with the business objectives. The design and deployment of a website entail numerous interconnected elements - from establishing site objectives, mapping user journeys, and designing the user interface to managing content, ensuring site security, and search engine optimization. Proper planning aids in recognizing and efficiently managing these complex components to deliver a successful end product.

1. Clear Objectives: Planning helps in the initial stage of website development by establishing the site's primary goals. These goals could range from driving sales, generating leads, providing information, or building brand visibility. Identifying these objectives upfront ensures that every element of the site, from its design to its functionality, works toward fulfilling these goals.
2. User Experience: Effective planning lays the groundwork for creating an optimal user experience. By defining the target audience, understanding their needs and preferences, and mapping their potential journeys through the site, a plan ensures the site's design is user-centric, intuitive, and engaging.
3. Design and Functionality: Planning helps determine the appropriate design aesthetics, layout, and site functionalities that align with the brand's identity and resonate with the target audience. It aids in making informed decisions about site architecture, navigation, colors, typography, imagery, and interactive elements.
4. Content Management: A key aspect of planning is deciding the type of content the site will host. Whether it's blog posts, videos, product descriptions, or customer testimonials, a content strategy needs to be developed and integrated into the website plan.
5. SEO and Accessibility: Planning for search engine optimization (SEO) and accessibility is crucial for increasing the website's visibility and ensuring it can be used by all visitors, including those with disabilities. This includes planning for things like keyword optimization, meta-tagging, alt-text for images, and site structure.
6. Security and Maintenance: A website needs to be secure and continuously updated to ensure its smooth operation. Planning helps anticipate potential security threats and set up appropriate measures to tackle them. It also aids in setting up a maintenance schedule for updates, bug fixes, and content refreshes.
7. Deployment and Evaluation: The final steps of deploying the website and monitoring its performance also require careful planning. This includes setting up proper hosting, testing the site before it goes live, and planning for site analytics to measure its performance against the stated objectives.

In conclusion, planning in the design and deployment of a website is not merely important, it's indispensable. A well-conceived plan sets the stage for efficient execution, continuous improvement, and ultimate success in meeting the website's goals and delivering value to its users. Without a proper plan, a website project risks becoming directionless, costlier, and more time-consuming, and it's less likely to deliver the desired results.

Web site planning models is the course where you will learn how important planning is to the successful design and deployment of a Web site.
This is the first in a three-part series that teaches you the requirements for planning a Web site. In this course, you will be introduced to two fundamental models, the Web Interaction Model, which illustrates the dynamic nature of a typical Web interaction, and the Web Site Development Process Model, which shows how a Web design team turns a Web site project plan into an effective Web site. In addition to understanding how particular processes can work, the models will provide you with a working vocabulary for explaining exactly what is happening when a user accesses a Web site, or when a Web team pulls together to build a site that effectively meets the client's business needs.

1. After completing the course, you will be able to:
2. Describe how models help to conceptualize the complexity of a Web interaction
3. Compare various classic Web models to the Web Interaction Model
4. Explain how each layer of the Web Interaction Model functions
5. Describe the six phases of the Web Site Development Process Model
6. Define the roles of specific Web design team members, including their objectives, activities and deliverables for each phase of the Web site development process

In this course, you will learn the dynamics of the Web and of a Web design team, with three kinds of applets:

1. the Tooltip
2. the SlideShow,

and ordering exercises. QuickChecks allow you to instantly assess if you are retaining what you are learning, and quizzes and exercises allow you to apply what you've learned to solve more complex problems.

Web Site Planning Models is the first of three courses in the Planning Web Site Requirements series.
In the next lesson, you will learn what you need to take this course.