Brad Schafer Website Design DotNetNuke Interview

By Lee Sykes

November 2005

This is part of the 'How did they build it …?' series of interviews.

This is a 60 minute mp3 interview with Brad Schafer from the Schafer Group.

In this interview we look at the whole web design process, right from the very beginning of the first consultation, the steps involved, the conclusions made, and how all of this information is applied when creating a website using DotNetNuke®.

We focus on one of the DotNetNuke websites that Brad has designed to provide a working example: http://www.cryoresponse.com. In particular focusing on:

• The consultation process
• Research and planning
• Content
• Logo
• Skinning
• Modules
• Promotion
• Top tips

Please view below for an extract of the questions.

Brad has also being kind enough to send us the original art work of the logo designs, skins and identity documents for cryoresponse.com so that you can see the full graphic design process in action. (This information is only available to subscribers)

Interview Extract

You can download the first 5 minutes of the interview here (4.8MB)
Schafer Group Website Design DotNetNuke MP3 Interview
(Right click on the link and select ‘save target as’ to download it to your computer)

The Schafer Group seeks to enhance the image, and efficiency of small to medium sized businesses through marketing makeovers, and technology based solutions.

Our re:Design™ service might be closer described to a ‘rescue mission’ than a consulting process. Drawing off the processes developed by leaders in web solutions providers (USWeb, CKS, Accenture, Microsoft), the Schafer Group has developed a process of re-invention, re-thinking and re-doing, called re:Design.

Based primarily on Microsoft Technologies, the Schafer Group has expertise in interface design, logo design, media packages, and IT technologies.

Adding mp3 audio testimonials via the telephone to your website

Skins by Tyler Fawcett

Tyler Fawcett skins for sale on Snowcovered

Stock Imagery, any websites you particularly favour? http://www.gettyimages.com

Image Ready software

Enquiry Manager V3 module for creating forms

Dnn Modules – Form Creator

Changing the page settings to allow editors to update the content of the website and the security discussions. View the tutorials from issue 1 and issue 2. These provide full video tutorials.

Web Position Gold

Here is an extract of the questions from the interview:

Overview:

What is the purpose and history behind this site?

Initial consultation stage:

Could you talk us through the initial consultation phase for this website – the conclusions you made from the initial consultation and how you used this information to research and plan the design of the website?

What do you discuss in the first consultation?

What was the brief for the website?

In what order do you create - the content, logo, skin, navigation & menu, and the layout and why do you choose this order?

What considerations do you make regarding useability and accessibility?

Why did you choose DotNetNuke to build the website?

Content:

In your opinion Brad, what content should a business include in a website?

Do you carry out any keyword research before creating the content? And what methods do you use to research keywords?

How do you decide on the structure of a website – for example, what information should be on the Home Page and how should this lead into the further content within a website?

I noticed that you use audio on some of your websites, why do you use audio and is there any evidence which demonstrates it increases sales?

What content do you place in these audios?

Could you explain how you create the audios?

And Regarding the Cryo Response website, did you have to adapt the content or design to fit in with DotNetNuke?

Logo:

(There are nine logo designs and four identity images available to download for subscribers)

What are the factors or considerations that go into creating a logo?

How did you create the logo?

What advice could you give to the listeners for creating logos?

Skins:

(there are two initial skin designs available to download for subscribers)

Where do you start when first designing a skin? and how does the logo affect the design of the skin?

What research do you need to make before you begin creating a skin and what were the factors that affected how you designed this skin?

How do you decide on the colour scheme for the skin, are there any particular techniques you use?

Could you outline the steps and techniques you used to design this skin?

What software did you use to design the skin?
 
How long did you spend designing the skin?

Are there any checks that you should make to a skin before releasing it on an official website?

And before we move on, do you have any tips for the listeners with regards to creating a skin?

Menu:

How did you create the tabbed look of the menu?

Flash:

I noticed that you have used a flash animation on the left hand side of the website, which is a great way of grabbing a visitor’s attention and delivering a message to the visitors of a website.

Do you have any comments on the use of flash in websites and why did you decide to use flash on this website?

Modules:

Which modules have you used within this website?

How did you create the form on the Partner Application Page that’s under the Partners header in the Menu? – How is this information from the form delivered to the owner of the website?

Did you have to make any changes to DotNetNuke, such as the core code, in order to fit your web design needs?

What is the plan for managing the future of the website in terms of
a) content management and
b) managing DotNetNuke updates?

Promotion:

Do you carry out any search engine promotion for your clients?

What techniques do you use for the promotion & marketing of a website?

Do you use any techniques in the initial design stages of a website to ensure that it is SE friendly?

Top Tips:

Do you have any final tips that you could give the listeners for designing a DotNetNuke website especially from the initial drawing board stage.