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Angels of Vintage project plan |
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Friday, 07 March 2008 |
The project plan for AOV differs slightly from the norm. One reason is that they already have an existing client base and web presence through Ebay. The project is based on improving what they have for their existing clients as well as creating a new market.
Below are the main points of the project. In the near future you will see detailed text on each heading.
- Branding
Logo creation and design guide. Decide on best look for product display, mainly the way photos are taken of the products.
- Photography
Taking test shots of products and models. Using different light setups and poses to find the right look for a Vintage Clothing retailer.
- Identify the sales cycle
How do people come into the site, navigate with ease. How will the site turn a visit into a sale.
- Hosting decisions
AOV want their website hosted locally and be based locally. This means they will be using Media-Slave to supply their web hosting here in Greenock, Inverclyde. The web Servers or data centre is down south and not in Scotland. The hosting is Linux based and all software is GPL and Opensource.
- Categorise the products
This is a very important step. Categorising the products will guide the navigation of the site. It is vital that products and categories are easily found. Ideally no more than two clicks will take you to a sub category.
- Payment options
Deciding how a customer can pay is another crucial step to converting visits into sales. The payment needs to be secure yet quick and easy with the least amount of effort by client.
- Best CMS/eCommerce Solution
Decide which CMS system will be most useful and which eCommerce suite will integrate. Both systems need to be Opensource and run on PhP/mySQL.
- Design the template
Create the template to suit the logo, colours and branding. The template will change slightly during the development process. The main reason the template will be tweaked is because once all the content, categories and products are on a better view of the overall look will appear. Some changes are sometimes needed.
- Upload CMS and install eCommerce Suite
Upload, install and configure the content management system and eCommerce suite.
- Install template
Install the template onto the CMS and eCommerce Suite.
- Test Shop
Create the categories, navigation and upload test products. Run sales test.
- Education
Educate client on both the CMS and the eCommerce suite. This allows the client to update the site himself. It is vital that the client understands all aspects of the site and the branding in order to keep the site consistent.
- Debugging the site
Running the shop and having friends, relatives test the system. This weeds out nearly all of the possible bugs.
- Search engine optimisation
Fix coding on template to make it W3C compliant. Configure CMS to create search engine friendly URL’s. Create a sitemap and verify with Google. Submit to all search engines and possibly link exchange with relevant sites.
- Promotion and marketing
Possible Google adwords campaign. Link from existing eBay shop. Flyers, friends, family. Email link to existing client base. Press releases, Youtube videos and more.
- Go LIVE!
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