THE CLIENT SPEC SHEET
Establishing clear guidelines for HTML production during the initiation of a web project redesign will help to answer questions and avoid backtracking once the production phase has started. This document will help to set parameters for audience capabilities and technical standards for the site. This is a worksheet. It is long and detailed. As tedious as it is, all the information needs to be addressed and answered before HTML production can begin. Please answer all questions as thoroughly as possible, adding additional comments as necessary. Consult your internal production resources or have your internal technical lead fill the form out. Write N/A next to non-relevant items, and identify areas where you need advice, suggestions or clarification. 

There are five parts to the Client Spec Sheet:
TARGET SPECIFICATIONS 
FUNCTIONALITY/FEATURES
DESIGN/LAYOUT/CODE
FILE STRUCTURE/DIRECTORY PREFERENCES
SERVER/HOSTING INFORMATION

TARGET SPECIFICATIONS | PART 1
Establishing clear audience specifications enables production to have a targeted goal. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to maintain consistency of experience from one browser or platform to the next. It is important for the HTML production team to understand not only the target end user, but also who can be left behind.	
	Existing Site Specs 
(Check One below)	Priority/Target 
(Check One Below)	Others to Support
(Specify One or More)	
Resolution	•	378 x 544 (web tv)
•	640 x 480 
•	800 x 600 
•	1024 x 768 
•	Other (explain)	•	378 x 544 (web tv)
•	640 x 480 
•	800 x 600 
•	1024 x 768 
•	Other (explain)	•	378 x 544 (web tv)
•	640 x 480 
•	800 x 600 
•	1024 x 768 
•	Other (explain)	
Browsers	•	Netscape
•	Internet Explore
•	AOL
•	Other (explain)	•	Netscape
•	Internet Explorer
•	AOL
•	Other (explain)	•	Netscape
•	Internet Explorer
•	AOL
•	Other (explain)	
Browser Versions	•	3.x 
•	4.x 
•	5.x 
•	6.x 
•	AOL 3.x
•	Other (explain)	•	3.x 
•	4.x 
•	5.x 
•	6.x 
•	AOL 3.x
•	Other (explain)	•	3.x 
•	4.x 
•	5.x 
•	6.x 
•	AOL 3.x
•	Other (explain)	
Platforms	•	Macintosh 
•	Windows
•	Other (explain)	•	Macintosh 
•	Windows
•	Other (explain)	•	Macintosh 
•	Windows
•	Other (explain)	
Connection Speed	•	Wireless/handheld
•	28.8/33.6 dial up
•	56.6k dial up
•	DSL/cable
•	T1/T3
•	Other (explain)	•	Wireless/handheld
•	28.8/33.6 dial up
•	56.6k dial up
•	DSL/cable
•	T1/T3
•	Other (explain)	•	Wireless/handheld
•	28.8/33.6 dial up
•	56.6k dial up
•	DSL/cable
•	T1/T3
•	Other (explain)	
Page Download Size (typical page)	•	30k and under (probably text only)
•	30 - 80k (typical page)
•	80k (graphic heavy, animation)
•	100k+ (not recommended unless a high-bandwidth site.)	•	30k and under (probably text only)
•	30 - 80k (typical page)
•	80k (graphic heavy, animation)
•	100k+ (not recommended unless a high-bandwidth site.)
	•	30k and under (probably text only)
•	30 - 80k (typical page)
•	80k (graphic heavy, animation)
•	100k+ (not recommended unless a high-bandwidth site.)	

FUNCTIONALITY/FEATURES | PART 2
The addition of specific technologies that allow greater functionality can greatly enhance your site. These same features can exclude a percentage of your audience, however, and can cause production scope to increase, usually due to unforeseen technical errors and troubleshooting. Please identify which features you already have on your site and how they are currently being used. Please also indicate which features you are looking to add and how you foresee them being used.	
	Preferences/Status
(Current and New Site)	Issues
	Comments and Usage Details (How it is or will be used)	
Frames	•	Used on current site
•	Yes (use on new site)
•	Will not be using
•	Not sure (list comments)	Causes difficulty printing and navigating and may require additional scripting and quality- assurance testing. Causes difficulty for search engines. With a multi-frame set up, could incur extra programming and QA costs.	Comments:	
Forms 	•	Used on current site
•	Yes (use on new site)
•	Will not be using
•	Not sure (list comments)	Requires additional programming and integration. Specific and detailed information is necessary to determine complexity.	Comments:	
JavaScript	•	Used on current site
•	Yes (use on new site)
•	Will not be using
•	Not sure (list comments)	Does not require a plug-in, but is not supported by all 3.x browsers. Adds noticeable download time.	Comments:	
Pop-Up Windows
	•	Used on current site
•	Yes (use on new site)
•	Will not be using
•	Not sure (list comments)	May require use of JavaScript, may not be supported by 3.x browsers. Inconsistent size and placement depending on platform and browser.	Comments:
	
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)	•	Used on current site
•	Yes (use on new site)
•	Will not be using
•	Not sure (list comments)	Does not require a plug-in. Allows  for global updating of fonts, colors, and styles. Supported by 4.x browsers and above.	Comments:
	
Dynamic HTML (DHTML)	•	Used on current site
•	Yes (use on new site)
•	Will not be using
•	Not sure (list comments)	Does not require a plug-in. Used to create special features such as dynamic menus. Supported by most 4.x browsers and above. May require additional testing, programming, and QA.	Comments:	
Flash	•	Used on current site
•	Yes (use on new site)
•	Will not be using
•	Not sure (list comments)	Requires a plug-in. Sometimes causes accessibility/download issues; may require two versions of a site to be built (HTML only and Flash) or use of a browser sniffer.	Comments:	
Media (Video/Audio)

	•	Used on current site
•	Yes (use on new site)
•	Will not be using
•	Not sure (list comments)	Requires plug-ins. May involve download and processing time. If using any type of media, please list as much detail as possible including type of media, format, and desired output.	Comments: 

DESIGN/LAYOUT/CODE | PART 3
The first question in this section is designed to assist the production team consult during the creative visual process. The latter three questions ask for details that are often left until the last minute, after coding has begun, thus necessitating backtracking. With these issues addressed early, production can work more efficiently.	
	Current Site
(General Specifics)	New Site
(If known, or preferred)	Comments	
Layout	•	Left Justified (fixed)
•	Centered
•	Expandable (liquid)
•	Not Sure (list comments)	•	Left Justified (fixed)
•	Centered
•	Expandable (liquid)
•	Not Sure / leaving it up to the designers to decide	Most sites today are designed to be “liquid” or expand naturally to the browsers width. Please specify if there are any browser-specific needs.	
Linking Colors	•	Text (hex color)
•	Link (hex color)
•	Alink (hex color)
•	Vlink (hex color)
•	Not Sure	•	Text (hex color)
•	Link (hex color)
•	Alink (hex color)
•	Vlink (hex color)
•	Not sure / leaving it up to the designers to decide	Hexadecimal colors used in HTML should be identified early in the process, usually during the design phase. 	
<IMG> <ALT> Tags	(please provide example of existing <IMG> tag treatment below)	(please provide an example of desired <IMG> tag treatment below)

	These tags are used to help describe an image while a page is being loaded, or for browsers with graphics turned off. They are used for speech recognition software and browsers that do not support graphics.	
<TITLE> Tags	(please provide example of existing page <TITLE> treatment below)	(please provide an example of desired page <TITLE> treatment below)

	The title clearly shows the contents of the page. It is also the number one way for search engines to list a page.	

FILE STRUCTURE/DIRECTORY PREFERENCES | PART 4
This is simple, but necessary housekeeping. Quite often clients don't have a preference and will simply leave it to the web development team to establish logical and followable standards. But in the case that there is a client preference, it needs to be stated now, before any production begins.	
	Current Site
(Are there established conventions for any of the following? Please attach a detailed guide.)	New Site
(Please attach a detailed guide of planned conventions, if preference exists.)	Comments 	
Naming Conventions	•	Naming of HTML files:
•	Naming of images:
•	Naming files with dates:
•	Naming files for backups:	•	Naming of HTML files:
•	Naming of images:
•	Naming files with dates:
•	Naming files for backups:	
	
Folder Structure	Please explain how your folder structure is currently being set up and if you wish to maintain the current set up for the site redesign (please attach a printed directory to accompany your explanation):

	

SERVER/HOSTING INFORMATION | PART 5
This is important information that needs to be in the hands of the development team.	
	Current Site:	New Site:	
ISP/Hosting	Name: 
Address:
Contact:
Email:
Phone:	Name: 
Address:
Contact:
Email:
Phone:	
Server Platform	•	Unix 
•	NT	•	Unix 
•	NT	
FTP Information	FTP address:
User name:
Password:	FTP address:
User name:
Password:	
Development Server	•	Accessible 
•	Not available	•	Accessible 
•	Not available	

NOTES and DETAILS: Please add any additional information here, or attach relevant documents.

			
Client Approval/Date

	Technical Lead Approval/Date	
Client Tech Lead/Date

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