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Home::ECommerce
How to Build a Quality Website
Author : Nowshade Kabir
The other day I received an email from a guy asking whether we
could build his eCommerce website. Since Rusbiz is a company
which has a full service web solutions development department, I
sent him our executive brochure by email and asked if I should
send him our website building checklist. The answer I received
was "Can I work directly with your web programmer and tell me
what your hourly rate is?" I wrote him back that there is no
problem in working with the programmer, but we use a team of
experts to build a website and he will be much better off if he
goes by a flat price for his project instead of going by hourly
rate. Apparently he did not like the idea! Too bad!
Web development services fundamentally differ from say an
attorney's services. If you are working with a professional
company, depending on the size of your web project a team of
people will work on it. Namely: your account manager, lead
programmer, web programmer, designer, Content editor, database
programmer, web promotional specialist, and web administrator.
The tricky thing about website is starting from making your site
by yourself on Geocity or similar free site builders to hiring
topnotch web development companies that charge thousands of
dollars the range is way too broad. Often, people select a
company to do their web development job based on their
subjective perception not based on knowledgeable decisions.
Although, price should be a key issue, you should not go for a
company just because it quoted you a cheap hourly rate! Many
fall for nicely designed previous works of the vendor. The
design is also only a part of the whole project, albeit a very
important one but don't make the mistake of overemphasizing on
it! A beautifully designed website with nice graphics and
pictures is not necessarily a good eCommerce website. It could
be even just the opposite!
Website development is increasingly becoming a sophisticated
task with narrow specialties. Before handing over your job, make
sure that the company does have all the right people in their
team. The team may also consist of other specialists apart from
the ones listed below:
Team Members and Description of their Services
Project or account Manager
This is the person who manages expectations through a project's
lifecycle. Determines project needs, outlines specific
deliverables and oversees the process and team from start to
finish. He or she also maintains ongoing client communication
and education throughout project. Handles budget and scope
issues, including weekly status updates and additional changes.
Art Director/Designer
This person oversees visual design process. Helps transforming
client expectations into the right visual look and feel. Applies
technical and user needs into final UI (User Interface) design.
Works with project manager and the client to establish a clearer
vision of the site.
Information Architect/Designer
Defines overall site organization and layout from an
informational, navigational and functional perspective. Works
with client and project manager to determine overall content
strategy and site structure, page layout and interaction through
out a site. Participates in usability testing and works with
developers to bridge gap between design and technology.
Developer/Programmer
This person works on writing and coding programming parts of the
web site. Oversees design and ensures effective translation to
HTML. Also works with other developers of the production team to
maintain standards for coding. Depending on the size of the
site, there could be several programmers involve in a project.
Content Manager
This individual provides a consistent style and tone of the
site. She works closely with client to gather all information
and materials for the Web site. Understands fundamentals of
content development, and has a clear understanding of the
overall goals and communication objectives of the site. She
works with the designer to implement content in an efficient
manner. She also works with Web Promotional Specialist in order
to bring the content inline with search engines' requirement.
Technical Lead
Provides management and direction of the programming team for
back-end projects such as database development or system
integration specialists. She acts as a liaison between front-end
and back-end teams.
Database Programmer
Depending on the needs of the website, a database specialist may
necessary to handle the development of various catalogs and
various database issues.
Usability Specialist
An individual with a background in human factors engineering
and/or cognitive psychology who has a broad understanding of
usability issues on the Web. This individual should have
knowledge in information design, navigation and Web development
processes.
Web Promotional Specialist
Helps optimizing web pages for search engines. Understand the
fundamentals of search engine optimizations and aware of the
latest changes in the algorithms of mail search engines. Make
recommendations to the client and help him popularize the
website. This individual works closely with content manager,
designer and developer.
Now, for your website you may or may not need a team with all
the members stated above, and in some cases one person may have
knowledge of two fields but it is better to understand that in
the ever changing world of the Internet if you are serious about
your web business, you better build your site with the help of
real experts of each core area.
Statistics shows that almost 70 percent of web projects do not
finish on expected time frame with allocated budget. To reduce
your risk while ordering your new website or revamping your
existing one, take the following steps:
Check out the vendor's site thoroughly.
Do they follow what they preach? How the site looks like? Are
you going to buy a product from the look and feel of the site?
Check out the example sites. Are they good enough?
Find out if the team consists of professionals.
Ask them detail questions. Check out cross reference. Talk to
the team members directly.
Write a clear well-defined technical scope.
Develop a thorough technical scope before starting building your
eCommerce site. This will eliminate confusions before they
occur. You will have a coherent picture of the required time and
budget. You will also understand your own needs better. A scope
is like your business plan and works as your road map. Spend
enough time to make your scope as meticulous as possible. Once
you finalized your scope, no matter what, don't try to change it
at later stage if you want to finish your project on time.
Work closely with the team.
Ask questions whenever they arise to the individual of the team,
whom they concern most.
An astounding large number of site owners are not happy with
their websites. A little preparation and follow-up will help you
avoid becoming one of them.
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