The Virtual Viewing Blog

People used to compare web development to baking a cake: to add a new flavour once it was in the oven, you had to pretty much start again. With modern development tools and techniques, this is no longer the case: you can amend, revise and add along the way – although having a plan is always the best idea. Indeed, phased development can make better sense technically and strategically, as well as financially and commercially. Like Rome, Amazon wasn’t built in a day.

And while a ‘big bang’ approach will always have its temptations – not least among them a sense of drama and excitement for the people creating the bang (if not necessarily for the onlookers) – it can just leave a big hole. A staged, phased approach to developing your Internet presence has much to recommend it – especially for organisations whose online ambitions outstrip the ability of their budgets to fulfil them in a single bound.

No matter how many cards, put them all on the table
As web developers, we strive to do our best not just in terms of the design and technical aspects of our service but in meeting and guiding your business needs and objectives. (Our business is helping your business.) The days of the website as a ‘bolt-on’ to a business are long gone: in 2010, e-business, in its broadest sense, is a mainstream part of almost every organisation.

To do this – and serve our clients best – we do, however, need to understand the bigger picture. A web development partner that asks you what pages you want and what colours and fonts you like but doesn’t ask about your objectives, strategic plans, target market or competitors is neglecting vital parts of the development process: evolving a complete brief is a responsibility for both parties. (more…)