How to get exactly the web site you want
12/20/2006
You have a great idea for a website. You haven’t thought it
through much yet, but you want to go out and see how much it’s going to
cost to have it developed for you. After all, the sooner you get
a web developer started on it the sooner it will get built. Right?
Unfortunately the opposite is generally true. Unless you are
interested in only the most generic, off-the-shelf templated website,
you want to have some input on what you are getting in return.
And what’s the point of having a website anyway if there’s nothing
special about it?
Submitting a request for proposal (RFP) at this point would be like
calling a home builder and asking how much it will cost to build a
house. Without more details about what you want, he cannot possibly give you a reasonable estimate without knowing important details such as size, features, etc.
You are smarter than that. After all, you came up with this great
idea for the website, right? You know that a great website
requires careful thought, planning, and finding the right web
development company to work with you to build it.
But you’re just the creative genius behind the idea. Sure you can
come up with great ideas for what you want the site to do, and you have
the business acumen to make it successful once built. But how do
you make sure it gets built in such a way to match the quality and
professionalism that you expect of your site? There’s a simple
secret to getting exactly what you want.
The first step is to know what you want out of your website.
Think about your site in great detail. What are you ultimately
trying to accomplish with your web site? Are you trying to sell
something online? Are you trying to generate new leads? Are
you trying to build brand identity? Without an objective a web
site has little reason to exist. And without a clear idea of what
you want out of your website, it has little chance to succeed.
It’s not going to succeed on its own. You need to make it
happen. And that starts with planning. The secret of
getting what you want is a complete requirement definition.
Sit down and try to write down a list of every page that you believe
you will need for your web site. For inspiration, go to your
favorite search engine and type in some keywords that are similar to
the keywords you would expect someone to find your site with.
Visit as many of them as you can.
As you visit each note your initial impression. What was your
first thought as the site loaded? Was it good, bad, or
otherwise? If so, jot down why you think you formulated that
impression. Check out the site in detail. Note what you
like and don’t like about each site.
You will probably come across ideas and features that you wouldn’t have
thought of yourself. Add all of these to your notes. Also
keep track of visual elements that you like. Do you like the
colors, or the layout, or the general impression of a site? Write
that down. Do you dislike something about it? Write that
down too, it can be equally important when trying to explain to your
chosen web development company what it is you’re shooting for. Be
sure to sort your notes by each site. Being able to show the web
designer the exact sites you drew your inspiration from is enormously
helpful.
After you feel you have visited a sufficient number of competing web
sites to give you a complete picture in your mind of what you are
looking for, go back to your page list. We call this list of
proposed pages a site map, or a site plan. You can draw your site
map a lot like a family tree. Your home page is the root of your
site plan. The home page links directly to other major pages on
your site, such as the About Us page, Contact Us page, etc. These
pages may in turn link to other pages in the site. Draw lines
between the conceptual pages of your site map. This gives your
site map organization and structure, and will make it easier for the
web development company to understand what you are trying to do.
This is already more than most people will take to a web developer for
a quote. If you don’t mind paying your web development company to
do your thinking for you, then perhaps this is enough for you to go out
for estimates with. But, an informed, savvy webmaster like you
realizes that not only will you end up paying more,
but you’re probably not going to end up with exactly what you want your
web site to be. Proactive, successful webmasters like you will go
an all important next step.
Now that you believe you have all of the pages identified that your
site will need, it’s time to really start thinking your site
through. For each page create a conceptual drawing of what you
expect that site to look like. You can draw this on a piece of
paper, or you can take screen shots of other sites you’ve visited and
cut and paste the parts of those sites you want to use.
What you want to at this point is to identify all of the features and
functions your site will require. Don’t get caught up too much at
this point in how it will look or lay out so much as how it will
function. For example, what fields are required for that
submission form you have planned? What happens if your web site
visitor presses the Checkout button?
Think through your site to the minutest detail you can think of.
Record as many of these details as possible. It will make all of
the difference in the world when you submit your RFP.
It’s your site, your idea. You should be excited about your
idea. And who can possibly know more about how your site should
work than you? Work through the details and your screen mockups
to the point where you can actually visualize exactly how your visitor
is going to navigate through your site. Each click they will
make, each field they will complete, every step between point A and
point B.
Once you have this level of detail, you are ready to start looking for
your web development company. First you will want to organize all
of your notes, thoughts, conceptual drawings, etc. into an organized,
cohesive requirements document. Write up a Request for Proposal
with the objectives you wish to accomplish, the requirements you have
come up with for accomplishing it, the conditions under which you
expect to complete the project.
Now go out and find a few web companies to submit your RFP to. Of
course you want to be diligent at this point of the process as
well. Find some good companies who have a good reputation for
doing good work, or have a portfolio with projects similar to yours.
Contact them before even submitting your RFP to them. Ask them
questions to give you an idea that they can handle your project, and
you will want to work with.
With the level of detail you have now prepared, you should no longer be
at mercy of the developer’s ability to read your mind and to determine
what it is you actually want. The fewer details provided before you even contact
a web development company for an estimate, the less likely the quote is
to be accurate, and the less likely you will actually get what you
want. You will probably get wild guesses over a very wide range
of project costs. A lot of this has to do with the large number
of unknowns with a poor project definition.
Of course, it’s still quite likely you will get a wide range of quotes
even with a solid plan like the one you have now developed. This
is the difficult part of the process. Because you have done such
a great job of defining what you want, they should be able to come up
with a reasonable estimate of project cost. But now the tables
are turned and you have to determine what each quote really
includes. You will probably be shocked at the wide range of
prices quoted. Particularly if your project includes some decent
features.
Be sure that you put as much effort into your decision process for
choosing your web development company as you did into your site
plan. Remember, you will typically get what you pay for. If
someone says they can do it for a third the cost of another developer,
you should be cautious. Either the low bid is way off for some
reason, in which case you will end up paying the difference in one way
or the other. Usually you end up paying with lack of quality or
service. On the other end of the spectrum the high bid may have
been overestimated.
Being a savvy businessperson, you realize that if you’re seeking a
professional, quality web site that you will be proud of and that gives
you the best chance for success, price is not your primary
motivation. Value is what you are after. If it costs twice
as much to develop a website that gives you exactly what you want, and
results in twice the profit, that’s the better business decision.
So for each web development company you accept proposals from, you will
want to determine who will give you the best value for your
budget. You need to be convinced that they have the ability to
deliver what they have promised you. To start with, narrow down
your choices based upon some important criteria for choosing the web
development company. Don’t even consider price at this point,
that should come after you have narrowed your list to a few quality
candidates.
Look at their past projects. The more the better. And the
more relevant to what you need for your site the better. If they
can’t produce quality samples, or can’t show you any projects that can
show you ability in the areas you will require for your project, that’s
a red flag. Most likely those will be the lowest estimates
too. The less they can convince you with accomplishments, the
more they will try to draw your attention away from that fact with a
lower price. Buyer beware with these developers.
You’ve put all of this planning and thought into your web site.
Shouldn’t you expect the same out of your chosen web development
company? Just as the proactive planning you have put into your
requirements definition and site plan has given your project a better
chance for success, a web development company should put as much
emphasis on planning for your project.
A quality, professional web development company will have experience
with many web sites similar to yours. They will have cut their
teeth on past projects, and found the right approach that will ensure
you get what you need, and to do so in an organized manner. Ask
them to explain their project development methods, and project planning
methods. You need to be convinced that not only do they have the
ability to deliver your web site to you with all of your requirements
met, but they have a plan on how get it done. On time and on
budget.
By applying your due diligence in choosing your web development
company, you can probably narrow your search down to 2 or 3
developers. At this point you haven’t even taken price into
consideration. Instead you have a list of solid choices to choose
from. You can feel confident that anyone that has passed your
criteria to this point is a quality company, and you will feel
confident in working with them.
If there are two or more web developers still in consideration, now you
will need to narrow down further. At this point you might want to
start considering price. Is one company giving you something that
another is not? You will need to weigh each option, and determine
how much value you are getting out of each.
Just as a good web development company will ask you questions to make
sure they understand what you want prior to a proposal, you will want
to formulate some questions to go back to each development company with
so you will know what you are getting from them prior to choosing a
developer. Often some details are brought to your attention from
the other proposals. You can ask for clarification, or what is
included and what is not. Once again, you are trying to determine
where you are getting the best value.
You want to make your web site and your business a success. You
know that if it were easy everyone would do it, and you would have no
competitive advantage. So it takes a unique approach, lots of
planning, and lots of hard work. By applying this careful
planning to your web plan and preparing a complete requirement
definition, you can be sure to get what you want out of your
website. And you can take the time to find a good, reliable, web
development company with which to work. That piece of mind of
knowing that you have made your decision for a web developer based upon
solid business principles will allow you to focus your future energy
into making your web site a success. And it all started with a
simple plan.