Brain Tree Films: Website Research and Planning

I am a user of web-sites but tend to use them as a tool for information more than anything else. I also have some experience of building web sites in a small way having created a quickly thrown together small site for publicity purposes for a documentary feature I completed that screened in a few film festivals. I aim to undertake some research to understand how to create and use my new website.

Due to this my initial aim is to go right back to basics and research all of the fundamentals of building a web-site from design  and purpose to SEO, functionality, architecture and content. What follows is my research notes and how these areas apply to my web-site.

TYPES OF WEBSITES

• Personal/Blog (like the one you are reading for personal content/projects)
• Content sharing (youtube, soundcloud etc.)
• Community/Social (twitter, facebook etc)
• Information (like a news website)
• Business brochure/catalogue (where it simply shows you what they do, like a restaurant)
• e-commerce (where you buy things such as Amazon)

From all of these types (genres if you like) as with all catagories one size does not fit all. First and foremost I want my website to be like an online business catalogue to demonstrate what all of the skills are I have to offer and show work the very best work I have created as a selling point. It will contain information but this will really be from a business or contextual perspective of the work, brief and creation process, the client (testimonies)or possibly a company ethos and details about myself and the company. It will not share content but be a platform to view my content and I aim to link and embed examples of my work through a service like Vimeo. As far as it being a community or social site it will not be these but it will have social media click throughs to twitter and facebook etc. This will be used as a news feed of what the company is up to as well as a marketing tool for creating an awareness of the company. It will not really be a blog but it may be good to have a news area of what I am developing, working on or have just finished though. It will not have an e-commerce aspect to it as although it will promote my services they will not be bought through the site. This may change in the future if I decide to sell through completed work on line.

WEBSITE LAYOUT, STYLE & CONTENT

• Style appropriate to website purpose? (mood and design appropriate?)
• Design and layout simple, busy or cluttered (consider web content and adverts)?
• Do colours / text clash?
• Make sure all images and video content are web optimised i.e. do any of them take ages to download?
• The content should be refreshed and include sticky content to engage the user.
• Leave clicks that take the users away from your site to the bottom of the page.

The following are all areas I will have to consider moving forward whilst developing the website. I want a clean, contemporary and professional looking web-site and the design must follow this. I want a simple layout without too much clutter and as little text as possible. This will include clean lines and a simple colour palette with 2-3 fonts maximum. I do not want it to look too corporate though and colour will be used to create a professional but approachable site and company. I want plenty of images and also plenty of video to populate the website and all of these to be optimized for the web. This content by it's nature especially the video elements will be sticky and engage the viewer. For the video a showreel of best work as well as short versions of work (to save users time) will be used as well as the full pieces. I will also make sure all click-throughs to other sites that will take users way from my page are at the bottom of pages so they are there but my content will have to be viewed first.

FUNCTIONALITY, NAVIGATION & INTERCTIVITY

• A simple and well labelled menu? 
• No broken (not working) or incorrect links?
• Site architecture good and flows well. No cul-de-sacs to frustrate users.
• Must have functionality across all platforms. This means the user experience must be good on all computer browsers as well as verions for tablet or phone.
• Use of any elements of sharing (content or blog), data capture, gaming?
• Use fresh content to keep users coming back?

I want a really clear menu that runs consistently through all pages. The users and potential clients may be 20 and digital natives but equally may be 50+ directors or even CEO's of companies who are not as literate online. The site needs to appeal to all and be stable and easy to navigate with nothing ever more than 2 clicks away. The architecture needs to be well thought out and really accessible. Initial ideas has navigation buttons to home, about the company, the different areas of work corporate, promotional, documentary, pop video and possibly art. I see each piece of work having it's own page with an overview of the brief, making it and client testimony about it. There will also be news feed to show what is happening or coming up and a contacts page to message the company.

I feel this research has helped to clarify the purpose and content of my website and will stand me in good stead when I embark on it's design and structure.