Re: AIS website, John's Worksheet for web design

[Jill Bonino <aistreas@earthlink.net>]

Thanks, John & Bob.  I am working on my thoughts and will send an attachment
with my answers on your form to your regular email, John, since I can't attach
it in AISDiscuss.  Hope that works.  Look for it tonight or tomorrow...

Jill

-----Original Message-----
>From: Robert Pries <robertpries@embarqmail.com>
>Sent: Oct 2, 2008 9:49 AM
>To: AISdiscuss <aisdiscuss@aisboard.org>
>Subject: [AISdiscuss] AIS website, John's Worksheet for web design
>
>B I think it would be helpful for everyone that can make comments on John's
>web site design. I pasted my responses in this message they are in blue or
>red. Perhaps this will stimulate some discussion. See Below.
>
>Creative Worksheet for Web Site Redesign
>
>
>
>Date:
>B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
B
> B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
>B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
B
> B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
>
>
>
>Client: American Iris Society, Bob Pries
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>A. B  OBJECTIVE
>
>
>
>1. What do you want to accomplish with the web site redesign? What are your
>specific goals?
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  Attract new members and service existing members.
>
>
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  To gain and hold members from web one needs to have
>interactive activities that create participation in the society over the
>internet.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>2. Which of the following are important to you:
>
>
>
>X_ _ Developing a web strategy that supports your corporate and/or marketing
>strategy
>
>
>
>__ Repurposing existing content (such as brochures, data sheets)
>
>
>
>X_ _ Creating a community of dedicated repeat visitors
>
>
>
>X_ _ Quality execution (graphics, writing, navigation, etc.)
>
>
>
>__ Ease of maintenance
>
>
>
>__ Ability to make changes in-house
>
>
>
>__ Doing better than your competitors on the Web
>
>
>
>__ Demonstrating that you know the Web and use it appropriately
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>3. How do you currently promote your site and encourage people to visit it?
>
>
>
>Google Adwords, Notes in Bulletin
>
>
>
>
>
>B  B. B  TARGET AUDIENCE
>
>
>
>
>1. B  How do you currently get your patients/clients? How do they learn
about
>you?
>
>
>
>Mostly local Iris Shows and Sales. We would like to get new members from
>website, presently we have no data on how many are new joining from website
or
>are renewals.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>2. B  What types of visitors do you want to attract to your site? B
Describe
>your ideal visitor(s).
>
>
>
>Serious gardeners who might join and support Iris Society
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>3. What are the main concerns of your target audience?
>
>
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  How to grow and choose Iris for their garden.
>
>
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  How to celebrate their successes
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>4. How does your web site currently address those concerns?
>
>
>
>It doesn't. Only peripherally by displaying award winners.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>5. B  What does your web site currently offer that is of value to visitors? B
>
>
>
>It is a great reference for phone numbers and e-mail addresses for
conducting
>business within the society. It is weak on other content. It provides some
>limited historical data, some information on showing irises in the toolbox,
>and the corporate actions of the society including minutes (dull but
>necessary).
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>6. What additional content can you add to your web site to provide even more
>value to visitors?
>
>
>
>1. An overall discussion of the diversity that makes up the horticultural
>groups. What are the types of Iris and how do you grow them? Is probably the
>main reason why a new visitor might come to the website. I doubt many people
>come looking for joining a society.
>
>
>
>2. Frequently Asked questions/ answers-----I would suggest a list of
contacts
>who would be willing to answer questions for their local area
>
>
>
>3. A calendar of events, showing time place of local meetings sales etc.
>
>
>
>4. A wikki providing the opportunity to share photos and information on
>different cultivars. This could develop into an encyclopedic reference and a
>fun interchange.
>
>
>
>5. A chance to vote online for favorite Irises, (Symposium for visitors,
>Symposium for members, Ballot for judges)
>
>
>
>6. Award winners with photos and cultural information
>
>
>
>7. Initial courses to become a judge,
>
>
>
>8. Seminars on Iris topics.
>
>
>
>Note, even though not all of these things can be accomplished at once they
>should be part of a plan for the future . Also as we decline in membership
the
>net may need to take over many responsibilities that can no longer be
>affordable to be done in the bulletin. A large complex site must have good
>navigation so one can spend a short time at the site.
>
>C. CONTEXT ANALYSIS
>
>
>
>
>1. B  What is the context for your company in terms of your industrybs
>history and the current industry situation? B
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  The society like most plant societies is in decline, as
>measured by loss of membership. AIS used to be important in providing
sources
>for Iris, but this function has been taken over by the internet. Currently
we
>provide little information that is not available elsewhere on the net. We
>offer no guidance on selecting plants.
>
>
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  Iris are not currently considered "hot" perennial plants
>in the landscaping/nursery trade.
>
>
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  AIS is the worlds registrar for Iris varieties and an
>archive of Iris information both scientific and historical.
>
>
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  Although the stated goal of the society is to promote
Iris
>we do practically no advertising accept for website and shows.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>2. Who are your main competitors?
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>There is no competition except for other special interest plant societies.
It
>is likely that other plant societies actually expand every ones market by
>enlarging the pie of horticultural interest. It is possible that groups
could
>tackle common problems together.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>Our most difficult competition is from Omnibus sites claiming to tell one
>everything they need to know about gardening but lack the expertise of the
>specialist societies.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>3. How do you compare to your competitorsbboth strengths and weaknesses?
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>We are one of the leading plant societies. All suffer from the same problems
>and none have yet developed a winning strategy. Each has parts that they do
>well. Recently other plant societies have been moving more aggressively on
>their virtual presence. AIS is about 2 years or more behind other groups in
>internet sophistication.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>The omnibus sites are often the most visited when one googles a specific
type
>of Iris or cultivar. We do not have this type of information up on the net
and
>are loosing our natural place on the net as a expert resource on Iris.
>
>
>
>
>
>B  D. COMPANY PROFILE / UNIQUE MESSAGES
>
>
>
>
>1. B  Main benefit: What are the major products/services offered by your
>company? B
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>Information and fellowship around Iris. Our most important service is
>maintaining the Iris registration. This is an esoteric benefit not
understood
>by many gardeners.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>2. B  How do they benefit your patients/clients? What problems do you solve
>for them?
>
>
>
>Everyone benefits from the registration system by not having different
plants
>with the same name or vice-versa. It was the driving force for the formation
>of AIS.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>The society can broaden the knowledge of the diversity of Iris and help them
>find the best and the most interesting plants for their garden.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>3. B  Secondary benefits: B  What are the other selling points of your
>company/practice?
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  The society is a repository of information about Iris
and
>a source of fellowship in sharing that information.
>
>
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  The society aids in the exchange of plant material
through
>Iris sales, passalongs, etc. especially at the local affiliate level. This
>aids members in finding new and rare Iris plants.
>
>
>
>B7 B B B B B B B B  AIS makes modest contributions to research on Iris
helping
>to maintain a connection between current science and our membership .
Although
>a primary mission of the society according to our bylaws we are not the
>sophisticated scientific group that we were at one time.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>4. How would you describe your companybs personality? Compared to the
>competition? Stodgy, slow to act, mostly reactive, rarely proactive.
Generally
>officers and members have no goals set for the society that have been
>communicated effectively throughout the society. B  We are a group of
>individualists doing our own thing and have trouble working as a group.
Other
>plant societies have similar problems.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>5. What key message(s) do you want visitors to take away from the site?
>
>
>
>B B B B  Irises are beautiful and interesting plants that can be enjoyed to
an
>even greater degree through participation in the Iris society. It is worth
>supporting the Iris society to maintain the task of registration.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>6. B  What action do you want from visitors to the site?
>
>
>
>B B B B  Support for the society.
>
>
>
>
>
>B  E. CURRENT SITE ANALYSIS
>
>
>
>
>1. What do like about your current site? B  What is working well?
>
>
>
>It is an excellent reference for links to other sites and as phone book. We
do
>a good job of sending someone somewhere else.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>2. B  What do you want to change about your current site? B  What is not
>working?
>
>
>
>First page of website is not intriguing to make one want to explore further.
>Site is not exciting. It does not bring visitor into site with compelling
>photos and information. Presently the site has few pictures and is difficult
>to navigate. Navigation is not intuitive. Site needs more interactive
>activities;
>
>
>
>
>
>B  F. COMPARATIVE SITE TOUR
>
>
>
>
>(The more thought you can put into this section, the more your site will
>benefit.)
>
>
>
>1. Please list your favorite web sites and their urls. What do you like
about
>them?
>
>
>
>Following other sites is not a recipe for being a leader, but only a program
>for being a me to. I have yet to see a Plant Society site that works great,
>perhaps this is why they are all failing. Few really try to create a virtual
>community, or have any interaction that could bring in members from their
>websites. Most do not do well on all counts but may have good points here
and
>there.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>Competitive site is Dave's Garden where currently people can find more
>information about Iris cultivars than on the AIS site even though it is
>generally not particularly good information. See
>http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/ The Iris Society is forfeiting its natural
>function as Iris information source by not acting.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>The Rose Society has a search function for finding their local affiliates at
>http://www.ars.org/Districts/findsociety.html and a Shopping area for unique
>products at http://www.ars.org/index.php B B  Two features that would
enhance
>the AIS website.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>The Passion Flower society offers a way to ask questions
>http://www.passiflora.org/contact/ and a way to make contributions
>http://www.passiflora.org/contributions/
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>The Daffodil Society offers a frequently asked question page
>http://www.daffodilusa.org/daffodils/faq.html
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>Several Plant societies offer a way of verifying information on cultivars
>including pictures see Daffodil Society http://daffseek.org/ or Hemerocallis
>Society http://www.daylilies.org/DaylilyDB/ or Pacific Bulb Society
>http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/HomePage. The Iris
Society
>could provide something similar with a wikki. This would be monitored but
>created by members and would be a fun way for them to show off photos and
>horticultural prowess.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>2. Please list the urls of your competitorsb web sites. What do you think
is
>effective about each of their sites? What doesn't work well?
>
>
>
>The Daylily Society has a very attractive front page that changes each time
>one goes to it with a different picture. It also has a rich set of
>navigational tools that link to the parts of the sight. The Daffodil Society
>has done a nice job of clustering their navigation links into topics that
are
>clear. On our present site links are in non intuitive clusters.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>3. Please find and list the urls for some high-quality web sites that
>exemplify what you would like to see for your site in the following areas:
>
>
>
>- appeal to same target group of customers B
>
>
>
>http://www.daylilies.org/- colors, Has a nice first page which changes each
>time one returns to it
>
>
>
>- colors, look-and-feel, user interface, layout
>
>
>
>B
>
>- size of site
>
>
>
>If we are going to develop a virtual Iris Society we are going to have a
>massive site but if it is well organized it need not be intimidating .
>
>
>
>- quality of content
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>- quality of graphics
>
>G. CONTENT / LOOK & FEEL
>
>
>
>
>1. What exiting content do you want to keep in the redesign?
>
>
>
>I would not eliminate any portion of the present website but rearrange or
>modify and add to it.
>
>
>
>2. B  What specific contentbtext and graphicsbcan be added to your site to
>attract visitors?
>
>
>
>Initial pages could have more pictures and be clearer on directing to areas
of
>interest. A short selling statement on behalf of the society would be
>appropriate. Presently we ask for someone to join but give them no reasons
or
>benefits .
>
>
>
>3. What existing content supports the main message(s) you want to
communicate?
>
>B  Areas speaking to activities of the society help encourage membership,
>example AIS toolbox, info on conventions, etc. Award Winners speaks to
>choosing iris but does not provide pictures.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>4. Does additional content need to be added to support your main message(s)?
>
>
>
>Definitely
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>5. B  What image do you wish to convey for your practice/company through
this
>site?
>
>
>
>A serious plant society working to promote and improve Iris while having fun
>doing so.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>6. B  Are there any design elements (logos, fonts, images, colors, etc.)
that
>should be retained to maintain consistency in your corporate image?
>
>
>
>No
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>7. Are there cultural factors that will affect the interface design (i.e.,
>language issues, age level)?
>
>
>
>Elderly population of members
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>8. Are there any legal issues that need to be considered when redesigning
the
>site?
>
>
>
>Depends
>
>H. INFORMATION STRUCTURE / FUNCTIONALITY
>
>
>
>
>1. What are the major content areas (i.e., About the Company,
>Products/Services, Client List, Portfolio of Work, Contact Us. etc.) on your
>existing site.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>1. Links and phone numbers of Officers, related organizations, sources
>
>
>
>2. Iris Registration Lookup
>
>
>
>3. Society business, minutes, etc.
>
>
>
>4. Society activities.
>
>
>
>5. Iris information, Award Winners etc.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>2. Under the major content areas, there are often sub-areas (i.e., under
>bAbout the Company,b could be history, management, press releases,
>licenses/patents held, etc.). Please list any sub-areas currently on your
>site.
>
>
>
>We were supposed to have a private area for garden writers with press
releases
>but this has not been achieved
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>3. What additions and/or changes, if any, do you want to make to the basic
>structure (main content areas and sub-areas)?
>
>
>
>Perhaps members only area, with archived bulletins etc.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>4. How often do you need to update the information on your site or add new
>information?
>
>
>
>at least twice a year. For phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Contact
>information would be best if replied to quickly.
>
>
>
>5. Do you want or need to be able to do this yourself in-house?
>
>
>
>B B B B  In House
>
>
>
>6. Do you want to collect data from visitors, for example by having them
>register to enter certain areas?
>
>
>
>B  It would be beneficial for understanding what new visitors find of
>interest. We had the ability to do this with Adwords but found it too much
>work
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>7. Do you want to have links to other sites? If so, which ones?
>
>
>
>B B B B  Many, most already present.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>8. Please list any other special functional requirements for your site (such
>as, download areas, e-commerce shopping cart, registration forms, links to
>PDFs).
>
>
>
>B  1 . The wikki will need to be a special area
>
>
>
>2. The ability to join as is done presently .requires a special area
>
>
>
>3. If we are to sell things online we need a shopping cart. Maybe this would
>be planned for future.
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>9. Who is currently hosting your web site?
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>10. What is the user name and password to access and upload files to your
>current site?
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>11. B  Are you happy with your current web hosting company and can they
>support your future requirements, or will you need to get a new one?
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>
>
>B
>
>12. Who currently updates and maintains the site contents? And do you want
>them to continue to do so?
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>
>
>B
>
>
>
>B
>
>
>
>B  I. B  CONTACTS / APPROVALS
>
>
>
>
>1. B  Who is the reference source for further information on this project?
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>2. B  Who needs to approve the design and content for the web site redesign?
>
>
>
>AIS Board
>
>
>
>3. B  In scheduling approvals, on what dates will key people be unavailable?
>
>
>
>
>
>B  J. B  SCHEDULE
>
>
>
>
>1. B  What is the desired completion date for this project?
>
>
>
>
>
>B
>
>2. Are there any industry, client or product-release events to consider when
>scheduling this project?
>
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