No self-respecting home owner would buy a new house without first inspecting the property or (at the very least) viewing the plans. However, this is precisely what many business owners do when they commission a new website.
Business owners can spend weeks (even months) ensuring that the Web Development
Company they choose to build their website is the right one; services are scrutinised, prices picked at and contracts cross-examined. However, because the Web Development industry is often perceived as incomprehensible, many business owners don't insist that they inspect the planned website, before development has begun. Unfortunately, this can be a costly mistake.
Developing a website is much like building a house. Changing the plans to add on an extra room, or (in the case of a website) a new function, can be expensive once build has begun. If you wait until this late stage to communicate that the developer has misunderstood your requirements, you could end up wearing the bill for the change.
During your decision making process, along with analysing services, pricing and contracts, you should also analyse the actual development process. Ensure that your Web Development Company will provide you with design concepts and (most importantly) a Functional Specification document for your approval.
A Functional Specification document is essentially the blue prints for your website. It offers a page by page description of what buttons will do, where links will take users, how information will be presented and any limitations you should be aware of. The advantage of these documents is that they give you an opportunity to query aspects of your website (prior to build) and make any changes you feel may be necessary. They are an excellent way of ensuring the website your Web Development Company builds for you, is the website you want.
Because just about anyone with the inclination can learn to build basic websites, the Web Development industry is littered with "cowboys". These developers have set up shop with the idea of making a "quick buck", but don't really have any understanding of how to effectively plan and build a website (they generally just jump straight into build). If your chosen Web Development Company cannot (or will not) provide you with a graphic design concept and a Functional Specification document to sign off on before build, I would strongly recommend not selecting them as your supplier. You are likely to end up paying for their mistakes.
Wendy Schollum is a web strategist and managing director of Xplore – your web agency (www.xplore.net). If you have a web related question you would like Wendy or the Xplore team to answer, follow Xplore on Twitter (www.twitter.com/xploreNET), join us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/xploreNET) or call 0800 100 900.