Define Requirements for a Web Site

Documenting Business, Content, Functional and Technical Requirements

© Barb Mosher

Before any code is written for your site clearly define business, content, functional and technical requirements.

Whether building a web site, or an application, it is critical to clearly define the requirements for that site or application. Otherwise the site or application will not operate as needed to meet the business objectives. There are four categories of requirements that need to be documented: business, content, functional and technical.

Business Requirements Defined: A web site is designed to help a business market themselves and increase sales. Business requirements document the business functions that the web site will support. They do not necessarily document the functions the web site should have, but instead enable an analyst to determine what parts of these business functions can be made available through the web site.

Other business requirements can include items that are not processes but need to be considered during design phases:

Content Requirements Defined: All web sites have content. So it’s necessary to capture all the types of content that will be used on the site. For each type of content identify the following:

Functional Requirements Defined: The web site must do certain things to support the business objectives. These functions need to be clearly defined:

Technical Requirements Defined: In order to ensure the web site will support the number of users who will visit it and ensure the functionality works properly, technical requirements needs to be document such as:

The more requirements that are defined and documented up front, the more likely the web site will be built properly. By not clearly defining requirements, a web site may not provide the proper functionality or support the volume of users who visit it. The next step is to take these requirements and begin to design an Information Architecture and a Web Site Functional Specification.


The copyright of the article Define Requirements for a Web Site in Webmaster Resources is owned by Barb Mosher. Permission to republish Define Requirements for a Web Site must be granted by the author in writing.




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