This guide is intended for potential clients who are thinking about comissioning the design and build of a website. It is a quick overview of what you may require and what we may require from you in order to better prepare a proposal.
In the vast majority of cases, a website is primarily used to disseminate information to current or potential customers. This reduces the time spent explaining the same information over and over again on the phone or in person, speeds up the decision process and frees up staff to be more productive.
OK - first thing to establish is whether you require the website to perform any functions (eg: ecommerce shop, visitor registration/membership, client administered content or any kind of database storing data that will change over time).
This type of website is typically referred to as a static (ie: no database) brochure site: who we are, what we do, how to get in contact. There may be some minimal functional requirements such as an enquiry form that sends the data to your email, or some information pulled from other existing databases on other websites (eg: news/product feeds).
In these cases, try to make a list of the pages you think are required and include a sentence describing the content you think should be included on each page.
Unless you require something totally unique it is likely there is a pre-built off-the-shelf solution available which we can utilise. Many are developed in open-source programming languages such as PHP and can be modified to suit individual requirements.
Examples of pre-built solutions are:
Unique requirements such as a new online business idea generally require bespoke coding and development either from scratch or modifying existing applications, making the website build significantly more expensive.
We will need an indication of what types of data needs to be stored and what type of functions are required - try to walk through the website processes (adminstering, registering, using, purchasing, etc) from the view of: yourself as the administrator; as a registered member (if required); and as a website visitor.
Your website address
This is referred to as a domain name - typical costs are £13 for .co.uk or £20 for .com every 2 years. If you wish to register a domain name, visit 123Reg - this service makes it very easy to point the domain name to any server (we can also do this for you). You may have already registered one, in which case ensure you have the username and password for the registrar's control panel where you purchased it.
Many clients request this ability - if you do not intend to edit the content regularly (ie: daily-weekly) then a content management system is probably overkill (in terms of specification and also cost).
We would recommend you use a desktop application such as Adobe Contribute which is inexpensive and allows you to browse the website as you would normally, but with the added features of editing text and managing pages.
Creating a company identity/logo is separate to the cost of designing a webpage, although a logo will likely appear within it.
Flash has sometimes received bad press due to its ease of use - everyone in the 90's was producing terrible animated intros with 'skip' buttons. Flash can be used in a much more compelling way or even to produce entire websites. Some examples:
» Flash animation within HTML
» Complete Flash website
From start to finish this project has been extremely exciting. 4W have created a stunning website which not only looks great, but has a function that works for our business as well as our customers. I would have no hesitation in recommending them.
- James Dickinson, Build It Green Ltd
A List Apart Magazine
Explores the design, development, and meaning of web content.
Webmasterworld
Forum for web professionals.
Techcrunch
Blog for everything new in web 2.0.
Full Service Web Design Agency in Bristol
14 Orchard Street, BS1 5EH, United Kingdom
Tel: 0845 373 2855 Email:
