StomperBlog

RULE 1

Understand the when and why of change

Basic site administration, such as updating phone numbers and contacts or posting press releases, requires little or no strategic consideration, but almost every other site change calls for evaluating why you need the change and then mapping it back to original business goals. The beginning of any solid e-business initiative is rooted in a marriage of business goals and user needs, and any change must meet those same criteria.

Answering the question of why any change is necessary demands an understanding of user behavior, new corporate priorities, and/or how current business initiatives can be better served, and how they relate to overall objectives.

RECOMMENDATION: Here’s a simple method for evaluating change requests. If you can’t identify whom the audience is that will benefit/use the changed information, how it will benefit them, and how it will relate to other information on the site, then don’t make the change.

Consider the platinum partner program example. Marketing and sales want to use the program as a way to reward the most productive channel partners

Judging from the expanding popularity of online photo sites, the vast majority of photographers are choosing photo Websites as a starting point. Many photo Websites offer free or nearly free Web storage and online albums. Some sites provide the space as part of the cost of processing, printing and scanning customers’ film. Others provide it entirely free of charge, making their money from advertising. With easily followed menus and guides, creating online albums couldn’t be easier.

There are a couple of things to remember before putting a Website together. First, make sure images are stored in the JPEG file format. (GIF will also work, but JPEG is preferred for imaging.) JPEG file compression is one of the best tools for keeping image size within reason. Finally create a folder or directory on the computer’s hard drive that contains the images to be uploaded. That makes it easier to organize the online album when the site asks for the location where images are being stored.

The actual process of registering and uploading images is remarkably easy. It’s pretty much the