What is the website for??

In establishing the aims of the website, each organisation must ensure that:

• users should be able to find your website;

• users are clear about who owns the website and what it is designed to achieve;

• navigation is clear and customer orientated, taking into account the needs of specific audiences;

• goods and services being offered by the organisation are effectively focused on the target audiences in terms of relevance and ease of accessibility;

• visitors are able to access the information they seek as directly as is practicable;

• adequate security is in place when dealing with online transactions for the purchase of goods and services - and that neither the client nor the provider is compromised;

• contact points (whether email, forms-based or telephone) must be staffed and all enquiries answered within reasonable timescales;

• the information published is up to date, accurate and relevant to the website;

• content is clear, concise and appropriate;

• links are kept up to date that users can rely on the website being available and is fast enough.

The tasks to be addressed when setting the aims and objectives are:

• identification of your website's place in the organisation's overall communications strategy;

• identification of the audiences for your website, where possible on the basis of market research or dialogue with client groups;

• understanding and responding to users' satisfaction with the website;

• provision of resources, especially staff with the necessary skills, for the website team;

• integration of the website with business processes, which might include electronic dealings with the public, publication of information, recruitment and consultation;

• integration of the website into the department's strategy for electronic government and freedom of information;

• integration of web services with other systems where practicable;

• monitoring the development of the website and its success as a means of meeting departmental objectives.

To ensure that the aims and objectives of the website are achieved they must be applied to key roles in the organisation and placed under an appropriate management regime.