Over the past seven years, I’ve been running my own company and have managed the website creation process both as a designer/programmer and as a consultant. Small firms have limited resources. Many undoubtedly don’t realize just how limited their resources are. I remember being shocked when I submitted a proposal to Red Hat’s consulting group and was told my project would cost over $125,000. When dealing with limited resources, the most important thing to manage is your expectations. I hope this little guide can get you off on the right track.

Separate needs from wants

Separate those features that are absolutely essential from those that are considered ‘cool’. ‘Cool’ ideas will bankrupt you if they’re not tied to the potential of increased profit. If you’re going to build something, get an idea of what it costs to build the essentials. The ‘cool’ stuff can come later when you’ve got the money for it. Don’t get me wrong - if a feature is intimately tied to your branding initiatives but doesn’t directly drive revenue then you may consider it essential. Just check yourself if you start a sentence with “Wouldn’t it be cool if..”.

Hire the right developer

Not an easy task. Every developer in the world will tell you that they can build anything you want. You must be vigilant in hiring people who have created sites that you consider to be good work. If they’re just getting started or have a portfolio of so-so sites - you can bet your life that your site is going to look half-ass and fail to function as you intend it to. Check those references and be wary of developers who come back with quotes that are surprisingly low. (I so want to link “surprisingly low” but I don’t want to get sued.)

Be very specific in your demands

Developers have been known to take the easy way out of a problem and then will charge you for “changing the specification” when you demand that it is done right. For example, our developers created a Checkout area without any reasonable attention to detail. It was impossible to navigate. To fix it, they wanted us to pay and pay dearly. If you can take the time to produce mockups, it will pay off in the long run.

Ease of use should be priority number one

Assume the average web user is the stupidest person you’ve ever met. Make your user interface as easy to navigate as possible. Label everything. If you don’t (trust me on this one) you’ll receive emails asking how to use your site.

Think about back office integration

When designing the website - think about how it’s going to integrate into your accounting software, your warehouse processes and your daily management of the business. What reports do you need? Developers will attempt to sell you on an expensive, no fuss solution. This may be full of value but, then again, it may not. Not every business can afford real-time integration. Sometimes it just means downloading a text file at the end of every business day and importing it into your accounting software. This extra 90 seconds of labor is perhaps worth saving $20,000 in development. “Real-time” is real expensive.

Platform

The platform is a fancy term for what shell you’re going to build your site on. If your site is something altogether new, then choosing the language to develop in and supporting technologies can be discussed with your developers. Ask about software costs. These are ongoing costs that will drive you insane. And be careful - sometimes these are built into the hosting prices.

If your site is a new take on an existing style of website (for example: ecommerce store, auction site, blog) then you can probably find a solution out there that meets most of your needs. There are a lot of small companies that do a pretty good job of providing a basic application that can be fully customized.

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Phew. Glad I got that off my chest. This is by no means a comprehensive look at how to manage the development of your company’s first website - but it should provide you with some useful food for thought along the way.

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