Version 1.0 17/03/1998 TTJ
Contents:
The Atlantic Council of the United Kingdom need to get connected to the internet, and establish a web site presence. To kick the process off, Tim Joyce of HOOP visited Nattily of The Atlantic Council on 16/03/1998 to establish the various tasks that need to be undertaken in order get online. This document is written following the meeting, and gives a breakdown of tasks and costs for the project. The project splits down into 3 areas:
Computer Hardware and Software
Connecting to the Internet
Website Design and Build
Each area will be covered in detail in the rest of this document.
The Atlantic Council currently has 2 PCs, they are specked at 33 MHz 486 with 8MB RAM. It is preferable that the PC being used for the internet is running Windows 95, as configuration and reliability are greatly improved. Unfortunately the current PCs do not have a high enough specification to run Windows 95 and would need considerable upgrading. It is there for considered best that The Atlantic Council buy a new PC. The following specification from Dell provides a high quality solution from the largest PC manufacturer in the world:
XPS D233 Entry Level Business System with the following Configuration | |||
PROCESSOR/CHASSIS | 233Mhz Intel Pentium II Processor with 512K Cache Mid Desksized Chassis | ||
MEMORY | 32Mb SDRAM | ||
VIDEO ADAPTER | 4Mb STB nVidia AGP graphics card | ||
MONITOR | Dell 17" (15.9" viewable area) monitor | ||
FLOPPY DRIVE | 3.5" 1.44 floppy drive | ||
KEYBOARD | Dell 105-key slimline keyboard | ||
1ST HARD DRIVE | 4.3GB Hard Drive | ||
CD ROM | Fourteen/Thirty-Two Speed CD Rom | ||
SOUND | Yamaha XG Software Wavetable Sound | ||
NETWORK CARD | 3Com 3C900 Combo | ||
MODEM | Internal 56Kb data/fax modem | ||
BACKUP SOLUTION | Not Included | ||
OPERATING SYSTEM | MS Windows 95 | ||
SOFTWARE | Ms Office 97 Small Business Edition | ||
SERVICE | Initial 1yr Collect & Return | ||
Net | Vat Rate | Gross | |
System | £1184 | 17.50% | £1391.20 |
Service | £0 | 17.50% | £0.00 |
Delivery | £30 | 17.50% | £35.25 |
Total: | £1426.45 | ||
Dell's Terms and Conditions apply |
The original specification considered included a 15" monitor, but Dell have advised that the lead-time for delivery is excessive and this quote has bee prepared with a 17" monitor. The cost difference being approx. £75.
The Speakers are an optional but useful extra.
A scanner is also useful for scanning photos etc for use on the website, Scanners start at £65 (ex VAT), for an A4 flatbed scanner.
The package from Dell includes Windows95, and Microsoft Office Small Business Edition, the only additional software required is FrontPage98 (a Word like editor for Web Pages). This costs £129 (inc. VAT).
Other software (for email, FTP, and Web browsing) will be downloaded from the internet at no cost.
A 10% Handling charge will be added by HOOP for all Hardware and Software purchases.
To use the internet you must connect through an Internet Service Provider. The largest independent ISP in the UK is Demon Internet, who have a very reasonable charge, and include 5MB of web space for free. The webspace will be used for The Atlantic Council Website.
Demon's standard service costs £12.50 (ex VAT) to set-up and a monthly charge of £12 (ex VAT). The package includes:
Quarterly Magazine and Free software.
Email account
Dial-up
Free Webspace
Design Considerations:
A clean and professional look
Quick to download.
Easy to find the required information.
Maximum browser compatibility.
Essential to the success of any website is promotion, simply putting a site on the internet is unlikely to achieve anything as nobody knows it is there. As a minimum, the site should be registered with the 250 or so major search engines. This promotion is best undertaken by HOOP as search engines are difficult beasts to tame.
The site should also be promoted to the general NATO community online, using existing contacts and other gleaned from newsgroups and general web surfing. This promotion is best done by the The Atlantic Council, as you will already have contacts in the field, and are in a better position to judge the value of mutual links etc.
During development, the site will be available in a development area on the internet, this allows you to give instant feedback and review progress.
The site will be broken down the following 'logical blocks' of information:
The home page will provide a mission statement and summary of purpose, using information for the 'blue sheet' supplied by Nattily. It will allow access to the all to the other pages on the site via a menubar. The menubar will be available from all pages. The design will be simple and contain the NATO logo.
This page will profile The Atlantic Council, giving more detail of their activities, and also list staff and board members etc, with photos where appropriate. The page will link to a map so that people can find The Atlantic Council easily.
This page will contain the Atlantic Council Newsletters, as new Newsletters are published, old ones will be left online in an archive.
This will give brief details of events organised by The Atlantic Council with details of how to contact the organiser.
This page will allow people to easily contact The Atlantic Council, giving phone and fax numbers. It will also provide a form so that structured email can be sent. An membership application form will also be available.
This page will provide extracts of Atlantic Council publications. Initially 3 publications will be put online. A form will be provided to allow publications to be ordered online, although no money will be taken, and users will be asked to send through a cheque.
This page will allow The Atlantic Council to form strategic links with other sites as appropriate. Exchanging links is essential for building traffic for the site, and can lead to strategic alliances that benefit all involved.
All work undertake by HOOP is charged at £36 per hour. It is expected that all text for the site can be supplied in electronic format.
Task | Time Required (hours) | Cost (£) |
Build of Site | 21 | 756 |
Sign off and changes | 6 | 216 |
Initial Promotion to Search engines | 6 | 216 |
Set up of web space and upload of site | 3 | 108 |
Training for FrontPage98 and FTP software | 3 | 108 |
Maintenance for first month (addition of links etc.), and any further changes | 3 | 108 |
Total | 1512 |
All prices exclude VAT which will be charged at 17.5%
It is anticipated that The Atlantic Council will maintain the website, using FrontPage98 as their web page editor. Brief training will be given for using FrontPage98, and updating the site using FTP.
Item |
Cost (£) |
Dell PC | 1335.40 |
Network Cabling | 30.00 |
Installation of PC, Connection to the Network and Internet, and basic Windows 95 Training | 180.00 |
FrontPage98 | 120.76 |
Demon, dial-up connection (1st year) | 132.00 |
Build of Website | 1512.00 |
Total (ex VAT) | 3310.16 |
VAT @ 17.5% | 579.28 |
Total | 3889.44 |
Item |
Cost (£) |
Scanner | 65.00 |
Speakers | 30.00 |
Total (ex VAT) | 95.00 |
VAT @ 17.5% | 16.63 |
Total | 111.63 |
Happy Object Oriented Programmers is a close association of skilled web professionals. Please take a look at our Web site http://www.hoop.co.uk, or review the sites of some of our existing customers:
Bloomsbury Book Publishers | http://www.bloomsbury.com |
Beint & Beint Illustrators Agents | http://www.illustrators.co.uk |
The English Book Centre | http://www.ebcoxford.co.uk |
Adrift White Water Rafting | http://www.adrift.co.nz |
Health Care Libraries Unit | http://wwwlib.jr2.ox.ac.uk |
Val d'Isère Ski Resort | http://www.valdisere.co.uk |
Radio Advertising Bureau | http://www.rab.co.uk |
Powerhouse Retail Stores | http://www.powerhouse-retail.co.uk |