This choice is really up to you on how much time you have to spend on this. The website and book recommendations in the previous comments are great as is the recommendation of using a Content Management System (CMS) such as Joomla!, Drupal, etc. Another book I would recommend is Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites ISBN-13: 978-1-59059-839-9 and ISBN-10: 1-59059-839-3. This is a great book which talks about what needs to be in a business website, how to market it, 508 compliance, using CMS software and templates, and many other topics. BTW, don't buy the hype of "IT can't do graphics design and vice versa" as it is usually not true. However, these are not skills you can do well overnight. Just like any other profession, it takes time to get good then great at it.
My end analysis would be to get a good CMS (most are 508 and standards compliant and allow the user to manage their own content and most of the good ones are free) with a good template (which you may or may not have to pay for as a lot of the free templates out there are very nice) or hire out the redesign (because that sounds like what your boss is asking for) to a web design company (keeping in mind that not all DESIGN companies are WEB DESIGN companies although more and more are coming around every day).
WTF? The "About Us" section of Knight's website states:
"Recognizing that fierce competition for publication and financial reward focused on the quality of storytelling, as opposed to the quality of the underlying storyline itself, and further recognizing that even the world's most skilled storytellers (of which he is clearly not) rarely turn a profit, his unique fictional storylines have matured into pending patent applications instead of novels or screenplays. He thus seeks reward on the true value of his innovations--the underlying storylines--instead of forced, sub-par expressions of these underlying storylines." (http://www.plotpatents.com/about_us.htm)
Basically, he wants to get paid for coming up with a story idea and not the work of turning the idea into an actual GOOD story because he is not a skilled storyteller. Here's an idea for you: (1 come up with a good story idea (2 find a skilled storyteller and (3 contract them to write the story (with both names appearing on the work maybe? or not in which case this is just hiring a ghost writer). Oh yeah, he'd have to actually DO THE WORK of looking for a skilled storyteller he is able to work with. How about this one then: (1 come up with a good story idea (2 write a BAD story (3 what for someone to copy it and (4 sue them under copyright law. Oh yeah, the duplicate story would have to be VERY similar to the original to be considered for copyright infringement and would most likely be just as bad as the original and not sell either, so he still would not get paid. I can see why so many foreigners see us Americans as lazy...
Besides, the idea behind the patent system is you can patent your idea, PRODUCE your idea (which Knight apparently IS NOT GOING TO DO with his story ideas), and try to make money from it without having to worry about a bigger competitor copying your idea and profiting from your creativity... Oh yeah, the patent system is still broken... never mind...
DO NOT scan/test a company's network without their permission! This is the fast track to a jail cell. Like QuantumG said (albeit a little sarcastically), get a sales manager and expect to pay out a lot of money in advertising.
If you think you're post was well composed, I would recommend some English/technical writing classes. If you recognize your post has some grammar problems and you know your writing skills are good, I would not worry about it.
I would say from the post you are not coming from a security background. Assuming you have an IT Bachelors degree, the minimum I would recommend is for you to study for some basic security certifications (such as the CompTIA Security+ and the MCSE/MCSA: Security on Windows Server 2003 specialization) and take them if you have not already. On top of this, I would recommend doing research into security conferences and possibly even local university classes on IT security (although I recommend these with a grain of salt as there is a lot of variance between the quality and type of information offered currently). There are whole books written on this subject, so visit your local bookstores and research what they have available. My rule of thumb in evaluating books is to see how in depth they get with their subjects. If they just talk in general about their subjects with no specific examples, I typically look for something else (unless it is an introductory book, of course).
Finally, just remember security is different to everyone (even in the business/corporate world). One company might just need you to identify their weak spots, patch them, and setup a plan to make sure they stay patched. Another company might need you to analyze everything from weak spots/patches to physical security of IT assets. Your job as a consultant would be to identify what they need (Business 101).
Slashdot Mirror
This choice is really up to you on how much time you have to spend on this. The website and book recommendations in the previous comments are great as is the recommendation of using a Content Management System (CMS) such as Joomla!, Drupal, etc. Another book I would recommend is Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites ISBN-13: 978-1-59059-839-9 and ISBN-10: 1-59059-839-3. This is a great book which talks about what needs to be in a business website, how to market it, 508 compliance, using CMS software and templates, and many other topics. BTW, don't buy the hype of "IT can't do graphics design and vice versa" as it is usually not true. However, these are not skills you can do well overnight. Just like any other profession, it takes time to get good then great at it.
My end analysis would be to get a good CMS (most are 508 and standards compliant and allow the user to manage their own content and most of the good ones are free) with a good template (which you may or may not have to pay for as a lot of the free templates out there are very nice) or hire out the redesign (because that sounds like what your boss is asking for) to a web design company (keeping in mind that not all DESIGN companies are WEB DESIGN companies although more and more are coming around every day).
Hope this helps.
WTF? The "About Us" section of Knight's website states:
"Recognizing that fierce competition for publication and financial reward focused on the quality of storytelling, as opposed to the quality of the underlying storyline itself, and further recognizing that even the world's most skilled storytellers (of which he is clearly not) rarely turn a profit, his unique fictional storylines have matured into pending patent applications instead of novels or screenplays. He thus seeks reward on the true value of his innovations--the underlying storylines--instead of forced, sub-par expressions of these underlying storylines." (http://www.plotpatents.com/about_us.htm)
Basically, he wants to get paid for coming up with a story idea and not the work of turning the idea into an actual GOOD story because he is not a skilled storyteller. Here's an idea for you: (1 come up with a good story idea (2 find a skilled storyteller and (3 contract them to write the story (with both names appearing on the work maybe? or not in which case this is just hiring a ghost writer). Oh yeah, he'd have to actually DO THE WORK of looking for a skilled storyteller he is able to work with. How about this one then: (1 come up with a good story idea (2 write a BAD story (3 what for someone to copy it and (4 sue them under copyright law. Oh yeah, the duplicate story would have to be VERY similar to the original to be considered for copyright infringement and would most likely be just as bad as the original and not sell either, so he still would not get paid. I can see why so many foreigners see us Americans as lazy...
Besides, the idea behind the patent system is you can patent your idea, PRODUCE your idea (which Knight apparently IS NOT GOING TO DO with his story ideas), and try to make money from it without having to worry about a bigger competitor copying your idea and profiting from your creativity... Oh yeah, the patent system is still broken... never mind...
DO NOT scan/test a company's network without their permission! This is the fast track to a jail cell. Like QuantumG said (albeit a little sarcastically), get a sales manager and expect to pay out a lot of money in advertising.
If you think you're post was well composed, I would recommend some English/technical writing classes. If you recognize your post has some grammar problems and you know your writing skills are good, I would not worry about it.
Check out Bruce Schneier, Counterpane Internet Security, or SecurityFocus. Gibson Research Corporation is another site to check out. This is just a start to getting some background on the basics and depth of IT "security".
I would say from the post you are not coming from a security background. Assuming you have an IT Bachelors degree, the minimum I would recommend is for you to study for some basic security certifications (such as the CompTIA Security+ and the MCSE/MCSA: Security on Windows Server 2003 specialization) and take them if you have not already. On top of this, I would recommend doing research into security conferences and possibly even local university classes on IT security (although I recommend these with a grain of salt as there is a lot of variance between the quality and type of information offered currently). There are whole books written on this subject, so visit your local bookstores and research what they have available. My rule of thumb in evaluating books is to see how in depth they get with their subjects. If they just talk in general about their subjects with no specific examples, I typically look for something else (unless it is an introductory book, of course).
Finally, just remember security is different to everyone (even in the business/corporate world). One company might just need you to identify their weak spots, patch them, and setup a plan to make sure they stay patched. Another company might need you to analyze everything from weak spots/patches to physical security of IT assets. Your job as a consultant would be to identify what they need (Business 101).
Hope this helps.