Driving Through the Web
- managing your web development

Last time you bought a car, you probably spent some time checking the published specs and comparing them with other makes and models before making your final decision.

But, what if you're faced with the prospect of developing or re-vamping your company's website? It might cost as much as your car, but the information you need to make crucial decisions is either difficult or impossible to find. You can't take a test drive before committing to buy and you can't return a website if you're not delighted after you've tried it. Choosing a car is easy.

One way forward is to take control and manage the development of the website yourself - or at least understand the various stages and processes involved, so you don't get any nasty surprises. In return, if you get it right, you'll end up with a gleaming, streamlined product that rapidly appreciates as an asset - unlike your declining investment on four wheels standing outside. You don't need to be tech savvy or a web wiz to succeed at this; it's more about effective management and planning.

Identify broad objectives

Be very clear about what the website is expected to achieve and how it's success will be defined. Will this be the number of visitors, advertising revenue or online transactions?

Also decide what type of site is needed. Will it be a promotional site, an information source (e.g. data on drugs for health professionals) or a transactional site with online shopping facilities for example? This should be apparent from your company's existing marketing or business plan. Too often, websites appear to have been developed in isolation from the rest of the business. If you don't already have a well-defined business plan, go back to square one and start again.

Select the right team

If using an outside agency, you should make them prove they have the skills and experience to meet your objectives. If you're relying on an internal team, make sure that you have adequate resources. Be sure to agree on terms and conditions with any sub-contractors before starting to avoid cost hikes later on.

Remember that everyone in the team (both in-house and agency) should understand the objectives, know what is expected of them and be fully supported by senior management.

Gather information

This is where the work really starts – you have to dig out all the information that must be presented on the site, research the industry climate and competition, find out more about the target audience and refine your project goals accordingly.

Plan your strategy

Here you define the problems and issues to be faced, explore design options, and brainstorm possible solutions. For example, what colour scheme do you go for, how interactive does the site need to be, what style and language is most appropriate for your target audience?

You will also need to structure the written content and figure out a navigation system that is easy to use and consistent throughout the site. Poor navigation is one of the commonest causes of visitor complaints. Check out ideas and concepts with end users and key decision makers to identify any usability problems early on.

By the end of this stage you should have a well-defined project, know what you are aiming for and how to achieve it. Then comes the reality check: can you make all this fit within the budget and available resources? You may need to trim some of your more ambitious proposals or work on your financial director to increase funding.

Build a prototype

This stage is sometimes short-circuited but for larger web projects it is vital. Prototypes can be anything from a rough, text-only walkthrough to a refined demo but they give you the chance to test a model and revise the final architectural plan before spending a lot of time and money on the real thing.

Use storyboards or flow charts to map out all the options for how users might move around the site. Get a design comp made up showing how a site will look in terms of colours, fonts and graphics. If you are dealing with an outside agency this becomes an essential element in your commercial relationship. After you've signed off on the design scheme, any further changes you make may incur extra costs.

Implement your plan

Production now starts in earnest. The content should be prepared and edited and the interface design completed. Any issues with the back end systems must be addressed now to ensure that the system can cope with the number of visitors you expect and that the website is properly integrated with other business processes such as CRM, inventory management, order processing.

Launch and promote the site

Before you start the final count down, make sure that you've thoroughly tested the site. Get new users to try it out with different browsers and operating systems. Test as many variations as you can. Relying on customers to do your usability and performance testing after launch is usually the most expensive option!

Once you have a website ready to go, how are you going to ensure that people visit it? How much have you budgeted for promotion? There is little point in spending money on developing a site if you can't afford to promote it adequately.

Make sure that you tell all your existing customers and suppliers about the site and use search engines, emails and adverts to attract new ones.

Measure, Maintain, Mutate

One it's up and running, the content of your site needs to be regularly updated, and links must be checked regularly. Measure your results according to the criteria you established in the beginning. Look at the server logs (a mine of valuable marketing data that is often ignored) and monitor over time to build up a picture of user behaviour. Whatever happens, don't let the site stagnate!

Managing the development of a website pulls together many different disciplines and is not a challenge to be underestimated. The best of intentions are often scuttled by unrealistic expectations (especially in estimating times to complete tasks) by poor communication between team members or by a lack of clear objectives and planning at the start. However, tackle these issues head on and you have a good chance of playing the hero when it all comes together at the end.

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Author: Simon Cross
Date: 31 March 2003