BUILDING A WEBSITE
You have developed your on-line strategy. You know what you want to do, now you have to make it a reality.
First of all you have to ask
yourself some fundamental questions:
o Who is going to oversee the
development of your strategy?
Ideally one person in your company
should be allocated responsibility and
act as the project manager.
o Do you have the resources in-house or
will you hire an outside developer?
Can certain parts of the work be done
in-house and others outsourced?
o What budget have you allocated?
Have you thought about all the costs
involved in putting your business
on-line including:
- Purchase and installation of new computer equipment and software
- ISP (Internet Service Provider) initial and ongoing charges
- Staff training
- Website development
- Domain name registration
- Design of the site
- Development of the website
- Marketing of the site
- Promotion of your eBusiness
EXPLAINING THE TECHNOLOGY
The language and terminology surrounding the Internet can be confusing and intimidating. The functionality contained on your site is dependent on your objectives for the site and your budget. The developer that you choose to build your site will be best able to advise you on the type of solutions you should be considering. Some of the common terms and technologies you will come across will include:
Domain name
A domain name identifies your website on the Internet. It is also sometimes referred to as a URL (Unique Resource Locator) or as a web address. One of the first things that you should do when developing your website is to register your domain name e.g. www.enterprise-ireland.com. Your domain name is a very valuable marketing tool and should be chosen with great care.
HTML document
A HTML document is basically a document that can be displayed in a web browser, which is a program that enables users to search the web, like Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. HTML, or hypertext markup language, allows you to bring text, images, audio and video together so they can be viewed over the web. Websites are made up of many HTML documents that are linked together.
ISP - Internet Service
Provider
An ISP provides you with access to the Internet. It also manages your e-mail and can host your website. A new breed of ISP is emerging called the CSP (Commerce Service Provider) which will provide the range of services you will need if you want a full eBusiness solution.
Web server
A web server is a computer that is linked to the Internet 24 hours a day. You have to host, or place, your site on a web server to allow people to access your site continuously.
Virtual hosting
Owning your own server is expensive and difficult to maintain. Most small websites are hosted on shared servers maintained by Internet Service Providers. This is known as virtual hosting.
Web graphics
The two most common web graphics formats are J-PEGs and GIFs. GIF stands for Graphic Interchange Format while
J-PEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. As the names suggest, GIFs are best for graphics and flat images while J-PEGs are best for photographs.
Flash
Flash is a new interactive animation package for the web that can also incorporate sound. You will need a plug-in to see Flash except on the most up-to-date browsers. A plug-in is a software module that allows you to extend the capabilities of your browser.
Forms
Forms allow the user to input data on your website so it can be transferred to your server.
Frontend
The frontend of a website is the part that you see on the screen: that is the graphics, the fill-in forms, and the overall interface design. If you want to do more than display graphics and text you will also need a backend.
Backend
The backend of a website is where all the communications between the customer and your site are processed. It's basically where all the work on the site is done, whether it involves sending data from forms to the server or searching for information on your site or processing on-line transactions.
Many larger sites are run off databases. Databases make it easier to manage large amounts of information. Databases store large amounts of structured data that can be searched and accessed quickly. The content of the website can be held in a database and webpages dynamically generated when the user requests to see a particular page. Databases permit developers to build site-managers, which allow for easy updating of the site. Databases can store any type of information including customer profiles. They can track and make records of the purchases customers are making. Records of orders can be transferred to your order and fulfilment operations.
On-line shopping
An on-line shop should reproduce the experience of shopping off-line. When you buy over the counter, you go into the shop, you pick out your purchases, you place them in a shopping basket and when you've made your decision, you pay for them.
This is mimicked on a website by:
1. Going to the shopping area on the site and browsing or searching through the web catalogue.
2. Putting your choices into "the shopping cart", a piece of software which keeps a record of your purchases and,
3. Paying for your purchases, most commonly by credit card, which will involve giving your credit card details and personal information on-line.
All this information has to be protected by encryption, which prevents unauthorised people from accessing this information.
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS:
On-line transactions
On-line transactions allow the customer to buy directly from you over the web. The most common payment method at the moment is by credit card using the same process as telephone transactions. Newer forms of electronic payment like electronic wallets and electronic checks are currently being developed.
To set up a credit card
payment system on your website you need:
o a bank that will establish an Internet merchant account for you
o payment processing software to transfer the credit card details between your bank and website
o a secure certificate to encrypt and protect the credit card details
Your ISP and your bank will determine which types of software you will need to carry out secure transactions.
CHOOSING A WEBSITE DEVELOPER
Choosing the right developer is critical to the success of your website. Be realistic about how much it is going to cost. Are you developing a content-based site or do you want a more fully enabled eBusiness site that will require automated functions like on-line transactions, reply forms, search functions and dynamically created pages? The more complex a site is the longer it will take to develop.
Look out for companies that offer eBusiness deals that cover web hosting, on-line transactions and database driven catalogues. Many have developed proprietary systems that allow small businesses to simply plug their content into a template. This can be a relatively cheap and easy way to build quite a comprehensive eBusiness site if you decide to go your own way. You will probably need to employ a graphic designer or web design agency to create your interface design.
Writing a brief
The first thing that you have to do is write a brief for prospective developers, also known as a tender document or in the US, an RFT (Request for Tender). The brief document allows you to set out clearly your overall objectives for the site and to specify exactly what you want to see on it in terms of functionality and content. Spending time on your brief document will save you time and money because it will give the developer a clear understanding of your requirements. It will also allow you to clarify your thoughts and make decisions about what is important to see on the site.
The brief should contain:
o A description of your company, including an introduction to the company and your future plans. It could also describe the business sector that you are in and outline any issues specific to that industry. What place does your Internet strategy occupy in your company's future development?
o The objectives for the site. These should be concise and realistic. What do you want the customer to do on the site? What do you want to achieve for your business with the site?
o The target audience for the site.
o An overview of the content for the site. Are you trying to give the customer information, technical support or selling directly on the Internet?
How will this affect the development of content?
Who is going to develop the content?
Will you need to hire a writer/content editor to develop the content? How are you going to structure the content?
o The functionality required on the site. What do you want the customer to be able to do on the site? Do you want on-line transactions, reply forms, search queries, dynamically created pages with a database backend? Do you want mailing lists and bulletin boards?
Do you want interactive games and
e-mail postcards?
o Maintenance for the site. The web is an ever-changing medium. You will have to update your website regularly to encourage your customers to keep returning. Who is going to update the site? Do you want the developer to create site management tools to help you update the website?
o Expected time frame for the development of the site. Do you have a launch date for the site planned?
o Anticipated budget.
o Contact name.
Sending out the brief
After you have developed your brief. Identify a number of companies that you would like to work with. Look at their website and client portfolio. The database of Irish eBusiness solutions should help you in this task. www.openup.ie.
Ask yourself:
o Do the websites download easily?
o Do you like the design of their
websites? Do they use animation on
the site? Does it work?
o Is the content clearly written and easy
to understand?
o Is it easy to navigate through the site
and find information?
o Can they develop the right backend for your site? Have they developed database driven sites? Is there a search function on the site, does it work well? Have they developed sites with on-line transactions?
Meeting the developer
Set up meetings with a selection of developers and see how they respond to your proposals. Developing a website can be both complex and tricky. You have to make sure that you can communicate well with the developer and that both of you understand the issues involved in building your website. Choose the developer that you feel you can work with most closely, not simply the cheapest. You should also get feedback on your budget and be able to make a decision about what you can afford.
Development
After you have chosen your developer you will have to sit down together and work out a schedule for the development of the project. As the client you will have to sign off on various stages of the development. Milestones and deliverables structure the development process allowing both sides to be clear about what is expected from them. There will be deliverables from both sides. You as the client will have to provide content while the developer will deliver the site. If you delay giving content to the developer it will slow down the production process.
The stages of production
will provide natural milestones during the project:
o Planning
o Production : Graphic Design and Programming
o Testing
Planning
Planning the site entails sitting down with the developer and deciding what's going to be on the site. The more effort you put into planning, the easier the development of the site will be.
Between you, you will have
to decide on:
o The content for the site. How will the content be structured and how will the user navigate through the content?
o What functionality do you want on
the site?
o What sort of interface do you want for the site? What type of "look and feel"?
This is the time for you to gather all the content for the developer. Decide on the pictures, logos and images you want to use. Make sure that any text given to the developer has been proofed and be aware that writing for the web has to be concise and to the point.
Production
The developer should give you a specification document before beginning production. This document should outline what you have agreed and what you expect to see at the end of the project. If there are any areas you are unhappy with change them now. It's much easier and cheaper to change material on paper than on the screen. If you cannot visualise something ask the developer to draw it for you on paper.
After you have signed off on the specification document you should track the development of the project making sure that all the milestones are met. Expect a certain amount of slippage and factor that into your project schedule.
Testing
As the site nears completion begin testing the site. Many developers have extranets that allow you to view the site as it is being developed. As the site nears the end of development get a group of testers together and get them to look at the site, particularly looking out for broken links, typos and images that are not showing. Can they find all the information on the site easily? Do they have difficulty with any part of the site?
FURTHER READING
The web is the best resource for finding information on how to build your website.
Webmonkey
Webmonkey is dedicated to showing people how to build better websites. The eBusiness section has good articles on finding developers, marketing techniques and how to track users.
o www.hotwired.com/webmonkey/e-business/
Nathan
Shedroff
Nathan Shedroff is an information and interface designer. You can find his excellent article "Recipe for a Successful Website" on his website, which looks at all the elements that you need to consider to make a successful website.
o www.nathan.com
o www.nathan.com/thoughts/recipe/index.html
Netmarketing
Site aimed at Net Marketers.
Some very good articles on how to write RFTs and briefs.
o www.netb2b.com/
www.alertbox.com
Dr. Jakob Nielsen's site. Nielsen is a webpage usability expert. He writes biweekly articles for his website which are both entertaining and pertinent. Three articles to definitely look at:
o How Users Read on the Web
www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html
o Ten Good Deeds in Web Design
www.useit.com/alertbox/991003.html
o The Top Ten New Mistakes of Web Design
www.useit.com/alertbox/990530.html
o Taking Your Business On-line
www.openup.ie