posted by Development
One day, your boss says that the company’s Web site isn’t up to par anymore. It is out of date, doesn’t offer value to current or potential clients and should have new features.
Then the inevitable happens: The boss assigns you the project with a shoestring budget and ambitious deadline.
If nailed correctly, these opportunities can be company and career boosters. They can also be black holes, swallowing resources and frustrating stakeholders until the final product looks nothing like what was initially envisioned.
Before beginning this undertaking, here are three quick must-dos to save time, money and frustration and put your company on track to online success.
Step #1: Get detailed with your requirements
Begin jotting down your vision of the final product and then expand on each requirement. If you think you have been as specific as possible, look again. Give examples and benchmark what is already out there.
Be specific about the information you want to provide or acquire from your users. Do not expect hired developers or designers to interpret your definitions. Trust us, they appreciate the detail and the more explicit you are, the better the designer or developer will be able to create a site that fits your unique needs.
Step #2: Think of the future
If you are doing a complete overhaul of your Web site or Web application, now is the time to get your foundational and evolving needs on solid ground.
Find a vendor with the same mentality as yours. Nothing is worse than launching a completed project only to find that your developers or designers have disappeared or refused to support you and your ongoing needs.
With that in mind, get to know your vendor and what they’re building for you. Answer these questions before moving forward:
• What programming language and technologies are they using for the site?
• What documentation are they preparing and will they share it with you?
• Do they follow best practices in coding the applications, HTML and styles?
• What process do they have for handling your future requests and updates?
Step #3: Get your content ready early
Time and again, we have seen projects steadily progress only to stall at the end waiting for site content.
Granted, concepts are sometimes not solidified until later in the process. However, rough drafts should be completed beforehand and ready to distribute to the appropriate pages or sections of the site.
When the design and developed functionality are completed, you can drop the content in and spend the remaining time fine tuning the formatting. Without the content prepared ahead of time, much time will be wasted by waiting.
Create the desired content early and effectively but don’t let yourself get too caught up in getting it absolutely “perfect.” It will change and it should change.
Conclusion
These tips are not the end-all and be-all for every Web project, but they are powerful tips that will lead to greater success when beginning a new project.
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