THE MAINTENANCE SURVEY

This survey is designed to help you determine how your site maintenance will be addressed after launch. Answer the following questions briefly and clearly and to the best of your knowledge. When you are finished, email all compiled information back to the project manager on the web development team.

General Information

1. What areas of the redesigned site will be updated (e.g., news, photos, horoscopes, products, reviews) and how often (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually)?

2. Describe the maintenance team and individual responsibilities and time allocation, if known. (Full time? Part time? Split jobs?)

3. How will the site be updated? Will you be inputting content manually into HTML files? Will you be using a content management system to dynamically update and deploy content (useful, for example, in the management of e-commerce inventory or text-publishing databases)? If using a content management system, please describe in detail.

4. Who is responsible for maintaining the site from a technical standpoint, and what is this person’s technical expertise level? What experience and capabilities does he or she have? Will the person require training?

5. Who is responsible for making graphic changes on the site? Will the person be using existing design templates when making changes or additions? What is his or her design expertise level?

Content Creation

1. Who is responsible for creating the content for the site? Is this person able to dedicate part- or full-time resources to content creation?

2. Who is responsible for approving look-and-feel changes (as the site expands) to ensure that the quality of the site is maintained?

3. How often will new sections or areas be added to the site? Will they be based on the existing site’s template or be independent sections?

Production Expertise

1. What technological expertise is necessary to update the site (basic HTML knowledge, light scripting knowledge)?

2. Is there an automated process of changing content on the home page (an automatic refresh of images or text each time a person comes to the site, a randomly generated quote, or a date change)?

Promotion

1. How will the user know the site has been updated? Will there be email announcements or specials tied into the site updates?

2. Who is responsible for continued search engine and keyword updates and submissions? How often will keywords and META tags be revised?

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