Having a successful business without being online is almost impossible in 2021. But building the perfect website to represent your brand online can be a challenging process, which is why it’s important to approach it with patience and realistic expectations.
Depending on what features you would like to implement, the timeframe can be extended and you might even need more people to embark on the development project.
To streamline development and make sure your site is nothing less than what you envisioned it to be, you have to take the time to plan it step-by-step, choose your developers wisely and maintain a steady line of communication with everyone who contributes. Here are some quick tips to ensure the flawless execution of your website:
Assign the right team
No matter the field in which you activate or the complexity of the website you want to build, keep in mind that a website is as professional as the team behind it.
You can never be too meticulous when it comes to choosing the developers for your site, be them from your internal team or from a company you hire.
You should sit down with all potential candidates, discussing not only their qualifications and preferred programming languages, but also their relevance for your business needs.
You can also assign all or part of the workload to a development company, depending on your own staffing capabilities:
- Outsource part of development: You already have a website and only want to add a new feature to it. You need your team to take care of other tasks, but you still need someone to provide ongoing bug fixes and support. Hiring a team extension is a great way to balance costs, but keep in mind that your team will need to provide all the necessary documentation to the company you hire.
- Hire a web development agency: If you don’t have an IT department and are just starting out your business, working with a complete website design and development service is the simplest choice. They can take care of everything, from creating the perfect responsive website design to building the website you have in mind using cutting-edge technological innovations and then offering you maintenance. Because all will be developed by the same company, you won’t have to synchronize multiple teams and worry micromanagement.
- Hire a consultant first: You have been in the business world for quite a while now and are thinking of making a breakthrough on the Web as well. However, you don’t know exactly where to start and you are not familiar with the web development trends that your site should follow. Hiring a web development company without knowing what you want and what is good for your business can waste your time and money, so first you should hire a consultant to help you with strategy development. During this initial planning step, you will also discuss how your new website will achieve your business goals and what potential challenges you should keep in mind before starting development.
Create a step-by-step plan
Web development is one of those processes where you can never be too organized. Before the team you assigned for this project starts working, make a step-by-step plan with them. Divide the development work into smaller milestones, so as to make progress easier to follow:
- Finding the right hosting provider and registering a domain name
- Logo and website design
- Building the website: this is the biggest part of the project and will take the longest time. To make sure everything runs smoothly, divide the web development life cycle into several milestones as well and meet up with your programmers to go over what they have done. Use this opportunity to give them your honest feedback and make changes when needed. Don’t wait until the website is complete to suggest changes, because that could set you back months.
- Writing the content for your website
- Testing the website thoroughly before it goes live
- Launching the website
Once the website is live, you will need regular maintenance, so make sure the company you hire offers that 24/7.
Having a website down for as little as a couple of hours can cause considerable financial loss, so it’s always a good idea to know someone can address technical issues in due time.
Prioritize task management
As you can see, the web development life cycle can be quite lengthy and complicated and the more tools you use to streamline it, the better the result.
No matter how organized you are as an individual, you will need to oversee an entire team, and that can be very difficult when you also have a business to run. Use a task management tool to help you keep track of all the tasks and delegate tasks easily, without having to call or email anyone.
If you decided to outsource a team extension, a task management tool can also be a great way to synchronize everyone and make sure you’re all on the same page.
By having a centralized overview of the entire process, you can be in control, while at the same time continuing your management duties.