Think you're ready for a Web (2.0) site? Think again.

How to know when you’re ready to design and develop a Web site for your hot, new Web 2.0 business? First thing to consider is that you’re probably not ready. In yesterday’s rant (View ) I described the pitfalls of taking on a vast Web project with half-vast data about your customer and market. Hardly earth-shattering revelations, but many entrepreneurs are inclined to rush headlong into the fray without adequate knowledge of the people they’ve targeted. We explained how to gather this data. Today: Stage Two -- the preliminary-project-plan stage. What this amounts to is the basis for a Web-based, project management site that allows new elements to be added, including information architecture, brand identity, user interface, product design and completion of the Final Project Plan. Your agency, or Web developer, should equip you with tools to do this for a set monthly fee, and services that can be retained even after the site goes live. You can post changes that you would like made by the developer and they can update it with the status and expected completion date. Next, the structure of the site -- navigation and how things are connected -- is formally outlined and approved. This is the foundation for the next steps. As far as your brand identity, it’s important to keep in mind only one thing about a logo, despite all the emotion, for better or worse, that logos tend to arouse. Your logo is simply a reminder what the brand signifies. Because it will be applied primarily online, it needs to be designed to work as part of a user interface that is consistent with what your brand promises. You should consider anywhere from five to ten logo options that have been formally cleared as defensible in the marketplace (that they don’t come too close to what somebody else has). What’s most important here is to explore a number of ways of making and keeping the brand promise in a user-interface that streamlines the process for users to get what they want to find (even if they don’t know what you are offering). Again, it’s important that your agency show you multiple, viable options. Check list: Is it easy? Does it grab and hold attention, especially for first-time users? Is it fun, enjoyable? Can the visitor become confused or lost? When they leave, can they return easily? If you’re selling a service to another company (business-to-business), does it take on the function of a “shell” for applications within that customer’s company? Is it easy to automatically refresh updated information? Visitors should be able respond to you with comments about the site, the products, and the brand. This is best means of knowing, continuously, what you must do to keep your business aligned with needs and expectations of your users. With the IA, UI and features/products designed, your project plan is ready for implementation. And only now are you prepared to collaborate with technical specialists. The scope of work defined in the project plan enables you assess the skills required to supplement your core team. Vast projects call for vast, but eminently do-able, preparation!