Missed deadlines. Blown budgets. Shoddy code. Bad design. The age-old "Well it works on my machine!" routine. The potential pitfalls for working with a Web team are numerous.
Throw a dizzying array of technical terms bandied about by designers and developers into the mix, and you could end up with a recipe for digital disaster if you aren't careful.
Working with Web designers and developers doesn't have to be such a slippery slope, however. Arming yourself with just a bit of information can go a long way in nurturing a successful long-term relationship with your Web team.
The following are five tips for marketers to keep in mind when searching out the right partners for a Web project. Following them may not get you out of every tight spot, but adopting these simple practices might mean the difference between a successful site launch and your project's ending up on the scrap heap.
1. Define your project
You need to know what you want before it can be built. Seems obvious, right? As a marketer, defining your audience is at the forefront of all your endeavors, so this one should be easy. But defining your audience is one thing. Defining your content and the technical specifications by which users will access said content is a bit trickier. The information you have compiled from a marketer's perspective may not necessarily be the information a Web team will be looking for in order to implement your vision.
That said, once you have properly defined the audience for your project, take it a step further and define as many technical specifications for that audience as possible. What kind of machines will they have? What will their display resolution be? How fast will their Web connection be? And so on. Try to be as detailed as you can and think through any possible scenarios where user experience hiccups could arise. Compile all your specs in a list and include it with your RFP.
After you have defined the tech specs, build a flowchart that outlines as much of the project's information as possible. Include everything from external links to contact forms, shopping cart pages, blog comment pages, or any screens you think are relevant to your project. The result should be a comprehensive overview of the entire project.
Finally, after you have defined your tech specs and the flow of information, figure out a timeline and how much money you want to spend. Be as realistic as you can and understand that the two might be mutually exclusive: what you want in six weeks might take twice the budget you have allotted, and so on.
Yes, this is a bit technical, but you will need to answer all these questions at some point during the project anyway. Why not do it up front? Providing these documents with an RFP will help vendors give you a proposal that is fair and accurate.
2. Talk about money
Frank discussions about project budgets are a necessity in building successful long-term client-vendor relationships for Web projects. The vendors who are the right choice should ultimately be the ones who most thoroughly prove that they understand all the nuances and details of your project and have a track record of similar projects to back their claims up, financial parameters notwithstanding.
But of course we live in a world where financial parameters abound. If you are willing to negotiate the financial terms of your project for a solution that meets everyone's needs and can be fiscally flexible, then you can begin building a relationship with your vendor that is based on trust and mutual respect.
But a high level of financial flexibility isn't always easy to come by. If your budget simply won't allow for all the features you envision in your project but you feel you have found the right vendor, ask if a phased release approach will work. Maybe version 1.0 doesn't have all the features that version 2.0 does. A little flexibility and some negotiating skills that make you friendly and approachable go a long way toward building a relationship that will flourish over time.
Also, proven experience and a track record of successful projects similar to your own should be at the top of your list when searching for a Web vendor, but remember that with experience comes additional costs. You can always find a vendor who will be willing to do your project for less money, but can you find one with the expertise you need?
3. Use a content management system (CMS)
Going back to a Web vendor for constant site content updates can be time-consuming and expensive. Using a dedicated content management system for your site comes with many benefits, not the least of which is that it empowers you with instant control over your written and visual content.
Regular content updates can help increase your search engine ranking as well, not to mention the fact that new content gives users a reason to return.
There are many CMS solutions. Work hand-in-hand with your Web team to find one that is right for your project.
4. Prototype your projects
Prototypes can be the most helpful part of the project process on either side of the fence. They help clients and vendors get on the same page when building a project, and almost without fail they bring about far superior end results.
Prototypes can be defined many ways and their scopes range greatly, but essentially they are a low-level implementation of some functionality inherent to your project. They can be as simple as a collection of HTML pages with nothing but hypertext links or as complex as a shopping cart or content management system implementation. Either way, their primary purpose is to show something early in the production process that can serve as a springboard for discussing options.
Just remember that the prototyping process very often brings up improvements that might be out of your project's scope, so plan accordingly.
5. Be part of the testing team
Web developers spend countless hours testing and debugging sites for proper deployment across all browsers and platforms. Depending on the size of your vendor's development team, it will already have a dedicated resource for quality assurance; however, working with the team during this process will insure not only that your needs are being met as production continues but also that the project is meeting everyone's expectations as defined at the outset.
Be willing to invest the time necessary to help your vendors test a project thoroughly. Most likely you will spot things that the vendor's dedicated QA resources might miss, merely because they are up to their ears in your project and don't have the ability to step back for an objective viewpoint.
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Following the above-mentioned tips will not guarantee that every project goes smoothly. It is difficult indeed to foresee every possible production stumbling block during a typical Web site project. Being as prepared as possible, however, and making yourself an integral part of your Web vendor's development team, can help you avoid as many pitfalls as possible.
