Remember your last web development project? You went over budget, blew past deadlines and became frustrated with just about everyone involved at some point.
1. Website development is easy.
Websites such as Facebook and Craigslist may appear simple, but the necessary development work is time-consuming and complicated. The strange thing is that the simpler the design, often the more expensive the site is. Some requests that seem small could involve complicated development work and require days of programming.
2. Everyone should be involved.
Rather than packing all the staff into a conference room to rattle off ideas involve only the people who’ll be doing the work.
Compile your content strategy, brand assets, business objectives and user flows. Don’t spend time mulling deep technical planning, database architecture, layouts, designs or widgets.
3. Websites are a commodity.
Consider your website an investment and dedicate appropriate resources toward it. Find a team of designers who understands your business, ask the right questions and have happy customers. A good team will help you manage your goals along with your budget and find optimal solutions. It may seem expensive, but the return on investment will be worth it.
4. Once a site is built, it’s done.
Web development isn’t a once-and-done activity. Once your site is launched, it will need to be maintained. Many mid market companies have round-the-clock teams monitoring their sites to ensure they remain without glitches.
Even if your website doesn’t handle a high volume of traffic, you still need someone keeping an eye on functionality. You’ll also need security updates and fresh content for SEO purposes.
5. Anyone can create a great user experience.
You can’t build the website yourself. Focus on leading your business and improving your products. Your intern, cousin or IT guy can’t build it either. A lot more goes into a site than basic knowledge of web design, especially when building payment systems and ensuring integration with the company’s internal systems.
