Web sites [  ]

A website's marketing and communications objectives should guide its content. Is the site strictly a business-to-business communications vehicle or is it intended to serve the needs of the general public? A site that is designed for the general public must meet strict accessibility criteria, whereas a business-to-business site can take advantage of the latest Web-based technologies for information management and delivery.

A website should be expected to accomplish at least two distinct goals, namely marketing the organization and disseminating information to specific groups. Within the technological constraints imposed by the target audience, a successful website must be both aesthetically appealing and easy to use. In order to accomplish the first of these goals, graphics and page templates must be designed that will give the site an appealing look and feel, using organizational iconography that will reinforce the brand and identity of the organization itself. The second of these goals, namely ease of use, is accomplished by designing an intuitive navigation architecture and implementing it consistently throughout the site.

Websites are commonly designed using any combination of the following technologies (X)HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript and Flash. To further enhance the capabilities of a website, PHP / ColdFusion and database development may be incorporated. Please see the Web applications section for more information.