This website will focus on the Lake of the Ozarks, MO. It will have all the necessary information about the Lake. It will be helpful in the sense that it will share fun things to do while visiting the lake, best restaurants/bars on and off the lake and different accommodations. Another purpose for this website is to share to the visitors the lake's history and what kind of events that go on annually. This website is important to enlighten the visitors before and/or during their stay because many can come from all over the world.
Audience:
The target audience for this website is anyone who is interested in visiting the Lake of the Ozarks, MO. The audience is open to any age group who is looking for more information regarding the area. This audience may be interested in the outdoors such as boating, water sports, hiking or exploring new towns and come from all over the state, country, and even the world!
Assessment:
I interviewed five colleagues who have all visited the Lake of the Ozarks at least once. Since they all have visited, they are familiar with the area and can help give helpful tips on what they would expect to see on the website regarding Lake of the Ozarks.
Questions and responses:
What information would be the most beneficial?
Pictures of the Lake of the Ozarks
Where to stay during the visit
How often would you visit?
All agreed that it depended on how often they would visit the lake, if visiting a lot, they would visit the site quite a bit to refresh their memory about the lake
What specific content are you most interested in?
Things to do at the lake
Best places to eat/drink
During what season would you most likely visit the Lake?
All agreed that the best season that they would most likely visit the lake would be the summer time
Five reference websites
Below, are website examples that are good and/or bad artifacts that will be considered when creating the final project.
For navigation, this website provides an easy navigation style that has an aligned banner at the top that will be similar to the Lake of the Ozarks page. You can see the example here.
For a content style to avoid, this website has a lot of information on the page that is thrown in random spots. This is an example to avoid.
For a simple layout design, it will be similar to this website that has easy navigation and readable font. The website can be seen here.
For a layout to avoid, this website has too much information on one page with difficult layout navigation and content that is placed in not so fitting spots. You can access the website here.
For preferred color scheme, the color on this website represents fun and brightness for the font and background. You can find the website here.
Content:
Based on the responses of my colleagues, I will choose to include the following content areas listed below:
About the Lake of the Ozarks: This section will act like an information page about the Lake of the Ozarks. It will share information of how the lake became and its history.
Fun things to do: This section will share all the fun activities that one can do while visiting.
Top Ten Restaurants/Bar: This section will give good recommendations of the best restaurants and bars on and off the lake.
Events: This section will display all the fun and different events that happen at the Lake of the Ozarks year round.
Accommodations: This section will provide different accommodations one can stay while visiting the lake.
Presentation of Information/Rationale of Organization:
To provide a consistent and fun look across all website pages while providing valuable information.
Have same banner logo at the top of each page.
Contact information at the bottom of each page.
Link to go back to the home page.
Same format of fonts and colors throughout page.
The home page
It will provide links to the 5 main sections.
It will be laid out in a table format.
It will provide about the author.
It will have appealing pictures of the lake.
All subsequent pages will be provided with horizontal navigation located at the top of the page.
The following information are proposed pages:
The About the Lake of the Ozarks page:
It will have pictures of before and after the lake.
It will also have a description/paragraphs of the lakes history.
The Fun things to do page:
There will be pictures of activities you can do while at the lake and a description of it.
If it is a place, there will be a link provided under the picture to visit their website to gain more information.
The Top Ten Restaurants/ Bars page:
This will consist of the best places to go on and off the lake in a bullet format.
It will also have a description of why they are the best.
There will be links will be provided to visit each website.
The Events page:
Similar to the other pages, it will provide information of year round events that happen at the lake.
It will show pictures of the events to appeal to the visitors.
The Accommodations page:
There will be a list of the top places to stay which will include hotels and condos to rent that are owned.
It will also include links to visit their websites.
Media:
I will create the banner logo using Canva. All the other images that will be used throughout the website will be taken from a photographer in which credit will be made below the photo saying "Photo courtesy of name". I will also include a footer statement saying the following: "All images used in this site are original. Any further use of these images is prohibited without permission from the photographer."
Color scheme and rationale:
The color scheme that I believe best fits when promoting the Lake of the Ozarks are greens, blues, and yellows. These colors are the most popular during the summer time (which is when people most likely visit). The green pops out along the lake side with the big and full trees. The blue comes in play as a symbolism of water and the bright blue sky. Yellow is another important color that represents warmth, the sun and friendliness. I also may use neutral colors for the fonts. You can see an example of these colors here.
Outline of website organization:
The following shows the outline of the proposed pages and content.
Home Page (Main Page)
Banner logo
Welcome message
About the Author section
A few pictures of the lake
Contact information
Bar across the top featuring links to five main sections
Last revised date
About the Lake of the Ozarks Page
Banner logo
Pictures featuring before and after pictures of the lake
A few paragraphs of information about the history of the lake
Contact info including name and email address
Last revised date
Fun Things to Do Page
Banner logo
Images of popular activities while at the lake
If it is a rental place, provide links to their website
Description of each activity/where the place is (if available)
Contact info including name and email address
Last revised date
Top Ten Restaurants/ Bars Page
Banner logo
Links to the restaurant's website in alphabetical (if available)
Photos of the restaurant next to a description of where and what type of place it is
Contact info including name and email address
Last revised date
Events Page
Banner logo
Photos of different events that happen year round off and on the lake
Description of each event by the photo
Contact info including name and email address
Last revised date
Accommodations Page
Banner logo
List of places where you can stay provided with links
A description of where they are located in terms of closeness to the lake
