Management Quality Consulting
Web Site Development Process
Prepared by Barbara Grimm Actis, 10/03/01When putting a web site up on the Internet, there are two basic tasks that need to be addressed:
1) Development of the web site itself
2) Finding an appropriate Hosting environment for the site
Development
“Development” is the building of the actual “pages” you will see on the site. Most sites contain more than one page, and contain links for navigating between the various pages on the site. The term “development” can be further broken down into two types of activities:
a) Design (involves the design and creation of graphical elements on the site, including banners, buttons, overall layout, and photo editing)
b) Coding (involves the HTML programming of the pages, which determines how the text and graphical elements are placed)
Hosting
A site can be developed on a standalone computer, but in order for anyone to see it on the web, it needs to be hosted by an Internet Service Provider, or ISP. “Hosting” can be further broken down into two sub-topics:
a) Web Hosting (the actual server environment where the files will reside)
b) Connectivity (how you and others access the site -- and the rest of the Internet -- from your office)
Most hosting providers (ISPs) offer several options in both areas. Web hosting options can include basic web hosting (text and graphics), database, payment processing, or other types of 3rd-party software services, and are typically offered on either Windows NT or Unix servers. Connectivity options can include dial-up (through your regular phone line and your computer’s modem), Cable (i.e. MediaOne), DSL (uses a portion of your phone line, while allowing you to use if for voice calls simultaneously – generally faster than dial-up), ISDN, T1, and T3 (dedicated, or shared with others in your area).
Your choice of web hosting options should be determined by the requirements of your site. For example, if your site contains only text and graphics, and does not require a database or other interactive elements, “basic” low-cost web hosting is perfectly adequate. If your site requires a database, you will need a provider who offers database hosting as well as hosting for a scripting language that communicates with the database. This is more overhead for the hosting provider, and is generally more expensive than basic hosting.
Your choice of connectivity options should be determined by the speed and bandwidth you require (usually a function of how many computers from your office are accessing the Internet and what types of programs they are running), and may be limited by what is available in the area where your office is located. For example, if there is an existing T1 line in your building, you may be able to tap into that and use a portion of its bandwidth rather than ordering a whole new line for your office alone. In this case you would share the cost of the T1 line with others. If you have only a few computers in your office, you may require only minimal bandwidth, and be able to use a lower-cost DSL line. The hosting provider I use is http://www.xo.com, and I will include a list of their offerings so you can get an idea of what is available.
Also included under the general “Hosting” category is the selection of a domain name. This is what users will type in their browsers in order to get to your site (i.e. http://www.amazon.com). There are several domain registries available now, and “.com” domains all cost $35/year to maintain, with a 2-year minimum required up-front. I usually use www.networksolutions.com or www.register.com to register my clients’ domains. Some hosting providers include domain registration as part of their setup process, which is very fast, so you may want to hold off domain selection until you are ready to sign up for hosting. However, all of them have “search” functions where you can check the availability of domain names you might want. I do recommend doing this, as the first name you try may not be available.
Process and Recommended Order
A site can be fully developed on a standalone computer before hosting arrangements are made, but I recommend making hosting arrangements first. The main reason for this is that the site should really be deployed and tested on the “live” server environment it is intended to run on, and bugs may appear which would not necessarily be as apparent on a standalone computer. It is a lot less time-consuming to fix these bugs while still in the development phase, rather than wait until the very end!
Testing typically includes checking the site on the “live” server environment using the latest versions of both the Internet Explorer and Netscape browsers. I typically develop and test the site primarily on Internet Explorer while I am building it, and spot-check it on Netscape.
How I Work
I begin each project with a general discussion of what the client would like to use their web site for, how they would like it to look, and what type of business they are in. Sites usually fit into one of the following categories – marketing web presence, database-driven, or e-commerce. My initial consultation is free, and the most productive ones have been good “brainstorming” sessions.
After the initial brainstorming session, I usually have a good general idea of what the client would like to accomplish with their web site, and I put together a general cost estimate for the site. In the case of more complicated sites, this may also be accompanied by a more detailed proposal. [Note: I work on a time-and-materials basis, billing in weekly increments, but I find that the estimate is important because it gives the client a “ballpark” figure to prepare for. The final cost may come in a little over or under the estimate figure, but it usually comes pretty close to it.] I then send the estimate and a draft of my standard contract for the client’s review.
Once the client has looked over the materials, I then answer whatever questions they may have, and once the contract is signed by both of us, I proceed into the graphical design and layout phase and begin billing. Based on the client’s feedback from the brainstorming session, I create two different graphical treatments or “themes” which they can pick from (or combine elements of). Once the client approves the graphics and general layout, I move on to developing the individual pages for the site. From here to the end of the project, it becomes an information exchange, and my development speed depends on how quickly the client can get me the information (i.e. text and photos) that they would like to use on each page.
How Will People Find Your Web Site?
Once your site is up and running, you need to give people a way to find it. One way to accomplish this is to register with one or more of the various search engines. These include Yahoo, Lycos, Excite, Google, WebCrawler, and others. Most let you submit your site listing for free, except for Lycos, which charges $100 per listing.
Another way to get your site seen is to have it listed on a portal site, such as a professional directory listing or specialty site. (These sites will usually allow you to place a link to your own site/domain from the same listing.) Listings on these sites are nice to have, since they attract users who are actively looking for the type of services your business provides. Any listings that link to larger sites are going to stand out more than those who have just the standard name/address/phone# listing. Some portals charge a monthly fee to link to your site, and this of course needs to be weighed against how much business you expect to gain through this particular source. Intrigue (http://www.intrigue-online.com) has listed their site on a wedding portal site called www.ido.com, and once got 3 jobs in one day from it, so this strategy has worked very well for them.
In Conclusion…
Establishing a web presence is an important and exciting step for your business! While there are decisions to be made along the way, the decisions are made one at a time, and the project can move along as quickly (or slowly) as you need it to.
If you have questions about any aspect of the process outlined above, please feel free to contact me, day or evening, at (781)273-2767, or by email, .
Thank you for your patronage, and welcome to the Internet!
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