The purpose statement is an articulation of the reason for and scope of the web's existence. You should have a written purpose statement available at all times during web development. At first, this statement might be in general terms, such as "to create a presence for our company in cyberspace" or it may be very specific, such as "to provide information about our company's new line of modems."

The purpose statement is dynamic--over time, an organization that started a web to "establish presence in cyberspace" may want to make that web serve another, more specific, purpose.

Key Purpose Practices

• Make your purpose as specific as you can.
• Consider how your audience responds to this purpose.
• Consider revenue possibilities.

Key Purpose Resources

• Yahoo: for getting an idea of the kinds of purposes served on the Web.