ITMG 340 Exam One Fall 2019

Name Michael Lee

This is an open book, open notes individual take home exam and you can also use Internet sources. Most questions can be answered in a few paragraphs. Refer to the course website for the Grading Rubrics for each question. You can use this template and answer each question on a SEPARATE PAGE. Make certain to save your exam file with your last name. This exam is worth 100 points.

Associated Students Academic Integrity Statement

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this examination”

Michael Lee (Signed 10/8/2019)

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QUESTION ONE 10 pointsExplain the influence on society of inexpensive Internet access and access to the web.

Inexpensive internet access has influenced society in that information through people’s access to the web is fast and inexpensive. Because of the internet global reach and inexpensiveness, there is a sort of ubiquity that allows for people to do more from one device. For example, with shopping, in the past the only option was to go to a physical brick-and-mortar store. However, with the internet, this has changed where now markets like those are not restricted to a physical space. Business can now be conducted through the internet, which has completely changed how our society operates.

Many different areas have changed in how they operate. For example, marketers no longer only rely on traditional forms of advertising like television shows or the newspaper. Instead, they have to be more creative in how they expose their product to a larger number of consumers. They now can market through channels like social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Organic marketing has also grown, with social media influencers becoming well sought after to advertise products.

Internet access has also changed the way we communicate. Because it is inexpensive, we are able to use messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to communicate with people both near and on the other side of the world. Never have we been more globalized and in touch with the rest of the world. For business purposes, we can also have virtual meetings through platforms like Skype and GoToMeeting that allows for our workspaces to not be confined to a physical conference room in one city. Email has also allowed for quicker communication on more formal platforms, instead of waiting for the postal service to deliver mail.

QUESTION TWO 10 points

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Describe each of the following web design role categories, and list at least two jobs that fall under each: creative, technical, and oversight. If possible, determine the expected annual salaries for each position.

Creative mainly centers around the appearance of a website. This means that the creative jobs will focus on the external facing elements of a website. One job included in the creative role is a web designer. This job will include responsibilities like the layout of a website, graphic designs, and leveraging certain technologies and plug-ins to improve the website. Web designers normally make around $50,000 annually. Another job included in the creative realm includes content writers/editors. These individuals will work to create and edit text that users will see on a website. They should also be an SEO expert; in that they know how to leverage search-engine optimization to their benefit. They also make around $50,000 a year.

Technical roles mainly center around the technologies that are implemented and the security and functionality of the website. This normally includes tasks like programming, database development, and maintaining the website. Roles in this include a web programmer, who should be skilled in languages like HTTP, hypertexts, and other systems. They also might be specialized as either front-end or back-end programmers. Web programmers can make anywhere from $50,000-120,000 a year. Front-end developers focus on what is visible to users, while back-end is focused on other aspects like databases, programming, and others.

Oversight roles deal with deals with the positions that look over general roles of the website. This can be administrative roles, overall design roles, system architects, and others. One example of an oversight role could be a social media expert. Depending on experience, these can make on average $50,000 a year. This person would look to see how to best leverage social media platforms to promote a website. System architects determines the different structures that are needed to run a website. These can make anywhere from $100,000-$150,000 a year.

.QUESTION THREE 10 points

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Define the purpose of value-added content. What criteria can you use to determine whether to add a content element? List examples of types of value-added content you can add to a website.

Value-added content describes that you provide content that you cannot find anywhere else. It basically simply means that you provide a competitive advantage of some sorts related to other websites. It is crucial in terms of marketing to have good value-added content, because without it nobody is interested in your product or service. If your website can contain value-added content, then people are more likely to become repeat visitors to your website.

You could look at value-added content from many criteria, but I think one important one is that it has to be one-of-a-kind. If it exists somewhere else, then it is not adding any value. If your news piece or technological gadget provides something that is useful and not seen anywhere else, you have a competitive advantage over competitors. Value-added content needs to also be relevant. It could be unique, but if it serves no use, then there is no value added there. It should also be helpful. For example, if you write a blog post about your struggles with mental health, adding your own, new perspectives to issues could help people in need, and thus add value for them.

For example, if you are a sports blog, your main focus would be to provide original content that I couldn’t find elsewhere. It wouldn’t simply be a news article that I could find on ESPN, but instead maybe an opinionated piece that brings in new perspectives on a topic. If you are trying to promote a product that you sell, creating an advertising video that is organic and unique and will attract new customers. It has to stand out, and not be unoriginal.

Value added content can also be design features like certain page layouts and buttons. By having a clearer organization to your content, this should result in value added content. If your website is easier to navigate while still providing rich content, this can result in more visitors. In order to determine if your value-added content is working, you can use analytics tools that will tell you engagements, average time on a page, and conversion rates that will you how people are engaging with your website.

QUESTION FOUR 10 pointsList and describe the six steps you can follow to create a website design plan.

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1. Planning the website-the first thing is to determine the type of website that we are creating. Are we creating an e-commerce site or a virtual gallery? Also is this website for a non-profit or a for-profit company. All of these questions will determine what types of technologies will be needed, and so forth.

2. Analyze your audience-what are the users of this website going to look for? How can the website attract business and repeat views? Will people be viewing your website on a mobile device, laptop, or desktop? This will inform decisions on how to design your website. For example, if more people are going to use a mobile version, we have to make sure the mobile version is strong and will entice viewers. We also might want to look at demographic data from analytics sites like Google Analytics to tell us how to tailor it and produce an ideal visitor that will help inform decisions.

3. Building a Web-development team-this depends on the scale of your website. If it is a personal website, you might be able to do a lot of the functions yourself. However, if you are creating a website for a larger startup, then you might want to develop HTML coders, service administrators, or at the very least define these roles.

4. File Names and URL-this includes the files that need to be included and the URL name that needs to be developed for the website. URL’s are very important to lead people to the correct page and ensuring that the files are located in the correct places is important.

5. Diagram the Site-first of all a flowchart should be created that shows the general structure and how the content will be displayed. These flowcharts will show a flow of information and will allow the creator to conceptualize information for their benefit.

6. Structure Summary-from the diagraming stage, then with a pencil and paper one should sketch out who the website will look externally. From there, this sketch can be automated, and a site specification document should be created that will show the different features of the website.

QUESTION FIVE 10 pointsList the three types of website structures and give an example of how each might be used.

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Types of websites including personal, organizational/topical, and commercial websites. Personal websites are used by individuals for a variety of reasons. You could display your resume for business purposes, a personal photo gallery, biographies, or blogs about what you are passionate about. It is the least complex and usually has less content and resources available than others. Organizational websites are owned and created by groups, associations, or organizations. Topical websites deal with a certain subject matter. Organizational websites could be used to create websites for a non-profit you volunteer for. These are normally used to educate or provide information about a topic or group. Commercial websites are used mainly in some sort of e-commerce role to promote and sell actual products from businesses.

QUESTION SIX 10 pointsList steps involved in self- and internal testing.

Making sure your systems work is crucial before you launch a website. These are some steps that can be undertaken to make sure that your website will work upon launch.

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Step 1: Functional Testing-ensuring that the main software and internal components of the website works.

Step 2: Usability Testing-this step usually involves developing a testing strategy that will encompass all features, recruiting test participants, and ensuring that the testing occurs under supervision of experts, and analyzing the results.

Step 3: Interface Testing-this is to make sure that all external facing systems are working. You should be making sure that error messages pop up if need be and if the server is working correctly.

Step 4: Compatibility Testing-this is to ensure that your website works for all browsers and devices.

Step 5: Performance Testing-making sure that your website works for different internet speeds and when under stress with a lot of traffic.

Step 6: Security testing-ensuring that your website is protected from unauthorized access and harmful viruses and malicious softwares.

QUESTION SEVEN 10 pointsList questions you should ask when evaluating potential web hosting services.

Determining what type of hosting service you need is critical because without a hosting system, your website would not function on the internet. Hosting services provide server space for your website to be located, without which people could not access your website. However, there are many options out there, and deciding which one to use is important to the success of your website. According to insight.com, these are some questions you should ask before selecting a hosting service:

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1. What type of security do they offer?-This should include where the servers are located, how secure are they, do they have a type of back-up and reboot features?

2. Can the server scale up and down when needed?-sometimes, your service will need to be adjusted based off of peak traffic times and lulls. Some will allow for you to use more server space when there is higher traffic and less when there is not, which will prevent crashes and allow for cost control.

3. How responsive and experienced is your tech support?-There is a chance that you will run into problems with your web servers. Having the infrastructure that will support you in times of need is crucial, and often simply looking at online reviews will tell you this information.

4. Do they offer web creation tools?-having the ability to edit your website in-house can be easier than transferring files between different databases.

5. Do you provide SSL?-Shared Secure Socket Layers allows for secure transactions like credit card transactions, log-ins, and other information. This is crucial and you should learn about the levels of SSL for different web hosting products.

6. What if I’m dissatisfied?-Determine what the exit costs are and if you have to move there will be a lot of additional costs. Therefore, you want to ensure that the web hosting service you pick will do the job for your current and future needs.

QUESTION EIGHT 10 pointsList popular social media websites, and describe how you might use each to promote your website.

Facebook-I would plan to utilize Facebook to promote TAS Hawaii to a larger audience. We would likely use Facebook to post about what the company does in general and also maybe to provide general tidbit advice on trust services. It would be used as a way to generate more word of mouth while also expousing the values of the company.

Instagram-Instagram wouldn’t be extremely relevant right now for the strategies for the company. However, if the business grows in the future, this would be a good section to include

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pictures of the employees, service activities they might be providing, and also some advice regarding trust services.

LinkedIn-LinkedIn might be one of the most crucial aspects of the company to promote the business. Ideally LinkedIn would be used to promote to different professionals that might either be able to reference the company’s services. This is the current LinkedIn page. A large campaign would be focused on updating the content on the page to attract more views within the Honolulu area. https://www.linkedin.com/company/tashawaii/about/

APPLICATION QUESTION

QUESTION NINE (20 points)Your main task is to design and create a website for some type of company or organization. The company can be real, imaginary, or something that you would like to turn into real company someday. Your website should be inclusive to serve all the potential needs and wants of the website’s intended customers/guests/visitors.

In order to achieve this objective, you will need to undertake some research into your target market. In addition, since no website exists in a vacuum, it is important to engage in a competitor analysis. What do

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other sites do well or where can you improve? Above all, you should be trying to answer the question—why would someone visit your site?

For purposes of submission, you will provide your website company, topic, provide some competitor website, and create a rough sketch of the front page along with structure. Some topics that you can consider are www.swdsi.org, http://carl.sandego.edu/holidaychalenge, http://www.trufflemaker.com/, https://www.iscap.us/papers/, https://www.konakakes.com/, https://patmcgee.net/

The company I will be creating a website for is Trust Administrative Services (TAS) Hawaii, which is my parents privately-owned company. The company is run by my dad, a CPA, and provides trust services for clients. This website will focus on describing the company to potential customers and also giving an avenue for people to join the business. The main focus would be to describe the purpose of the company in a visually-pleasing and easy to understand way. This is important due to the complexity of the business.

The website would include pages for About us, which will describe my dad as the main partner and his business experience. The next page will be a view our services page, which will provide a brief overview of the services provided by the company. The next page will include a description of trust services and what it means. There will also be a testimonial page. Finally, there will be a contact us page where people can get in contact if they want business.

The design of this website will focus on being clean and professional. It is important that for the purposes of this business, the design of the website should be clean cut and simple, yet informative. Therefore, I am looking to not use any animations that pop out extremely and use a professional-looking fonts. The website would also utilize scenery photos from Hawaii, as the audience is centered around Hawaii residents. I would also look to describe the services of the business in a concise nature. This is crucial because of the complexity of trust services.

Competitor Websites in the trust-administrative service sector in Hawaii include:EAS Hawaii: https://www.estateadminservices.com (see photo below of homepage)

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Keala Holt Hawaii Fiduciary Services: http://hawaiifiduciaryservices.com/kela-holt/

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