WEBSITE FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS TEMPLATE

Use this template to communicate a vision for a new or updated website to stakeholders within your company and to web development resources you contract.

WHO ARE YOU?	It can be useful to remind internal users what your purpose is and is essential to good function and design to explain this to external vendors. What does your organization do? When was your organization founded and why? Size of company and location. Main products and services.
WHY DO YOU NEED A WEBSITE?	What’s the purpose of a website? What are your business goals for the website and how will you know when you’ve achieved them? What are the problems with your existing site? An example of a goal is to increase inbound leads for services. A secondary goal might be to improve how fast account managers are notified of web-based inquiries.
WHO IS YOUR KEY AUDIENCE?	Who needs to look at your website? Is it customers? Researchers? The press? And what does your audience want to do when they get to your site? What do you want them to do?
HOW SHOULD YOUR SITE BE ORGANIZED?	Sketch out the information architecture. Don’t be constricted by any existing designs. And don’t be surprised if this sketch changes during development.
HOW DOES IT WORK?	You can discuss this aspect without having a background in web programming if you consider such things as whether a page should include an address form or what is required if you need to accept payments. The organization and functionality discussion may be best expressed in user stories: As a <user>, I want to <do something>, so that I <achieve or create a benefit>. For example: As a customer, I want to remove extra items from my cart so that I buy only what I need.
WHO ARE YOUR COMPETITORS?	Listing the sites of your immediate competitors can provide ideas for improvements and opportunities to add value that their sites can’t offer.
WHAT ELSE?	Consider how your site will be used, or the usability. Detail any compliance requirements, such as HIPAA for healthcare sites.
WHAT IS YOUR BUDGET AND DEADLINE?	It’s important for you and your web development vendors to understand these potential constraints.

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