A Layman’s Guide to Web Development (1.0)

Today marks nearly 45 days past my deadline for completing eRepat.com.  Functionality bugs, content changes, navigation changes all have taken their toll on my time line.  Although frustrating I’m not surprised given my previous experience.  Moving niche concepts to functioning business applications have their ups and downs but web development almost certainly presents the same challenges.  That is, time and money are rarely are on budget.

I’ve built many websites over the past couple years.  Through this experience I’ve come to appreciate the unique challenges that occur.   For the record, I’m a business enthusiast not a web guru.  I might just pass a credibility test if you put me in a room full of developers.   So, for my fellow business enthusiast, I’ve put together a list of tips you may consider the next time you or your team must build/integrate web applications.  Details/Lessons learned:

• Things get expensive any time you contract for development services so it’s real important to understand what content and functionality you want to see in your website.  Map it out in Microsoft Visio or Publisher before you meet with a developer.  Or, physically write tables of content and functionality and show the inter-relationships between each feature, page and/or function.  Bottom Line:  Be very very clear on writing a scope of work before discussing the project with a developer.  Time is money and very few developers are willing to take the time to help you design your site for free.  You can even say there may be a conflict of interest, e.g. most developers charge by the hour so their participation can have a direct impact on the time it takes to build the site.
• Pricing is 100% dependent on content and functionality.  It is simply a measure of hours to complete the job.  PHP developers in the US charge an average of $75-$95/hour.   You can find offshore development resources that will run you $10-$15/hour.  However, be warned, you get what you pay for.  Offshore resources typically have the same skill set as Western developers.  However, your challenge will be communication, management and time. If you are clear on your scope, have experience in building websites and have the time to micro manage the project, this may be a good route.  Just be sure you understand that time has a price and if it’s your time, it must be factored into the overall cost of development.
• There are a few different types of code used to build websites.   Most common are HTML, PHP and ASP.  If you are going to build a website you first need to determine what type of foundation code you will use. HTML is the foundation that most websites were built on when the Internet was started.  Html is used in many websites today.  However, if you want dynamic functionality and robust tools you’ll need to look to PHP or ASP.  PHP is open source.  This means that the code is available for free so don’t expect to pay licenses or other ‘tack on’ expenses.  Your expense is simply the developers time and standard expenses, e.g. web hosting, domain subscription, marketing etc.  If you require functionality integration with Microsoft Office tools, CRM or other Microsoft applications you will need to develop your website in ASP.  As general rule of thumb, ASP development is more expensive because you must have a variety of indirect licenses for use of the code, i.e. MS Server & Software licenses.
•  If you are building a corporate site with very little functionality you can buy an HTML template for a couple hundred dollars and be off and running without a developer.  The same goes for PHP or ASP templates.  However, templates rarely meet 100% of your unique needs.  This means you must find a developer to modify/hack the template.  Sample template site:  Template Monster
• ‘Gotcha’  There are a few ‘Gotcha’s’ in web development.  I’m not suggesting they are malicious or intentional but they sometimes get buried in the fine print.  Those are the costs for images or media, the time period for fixing ‘bugs’ ( a term which simply means technical flaws in functionality), the total number of revisions provided, bundles of hours  etc.  Warning:  Don’t get caught in buying bundles of support or development hours in less you know you will use them.  They typically have a shelf life or a ‘use it or loose it clause.’  In my experience you almost always under or over utilize your blocks of hours. 
• Content Management Systems (CMS):  As you grow you’ll inevitably want to modify or improve your site.  Don’t get stuck paying developers for basic changes.  Ensure your website contains a CMS.  CMS allow you to modify page and image content via an administrator tool.
• Managing Developers:  Unfortunately the only reference I have here is lawyers.  You should be very clear on what you expect in terms of results, understand how long it’s going to take, what constitutes a free revision or a paid revision and get it in writing.  A quick disclaimer:  I have had very positive and negative experiences with developers.  It’s like any profession.  There are good ones and…. not so good ones.

That should be enough to give you a good start.  As mentioned, web development was never my profession but i’ve certainly spent enough money to qualify for an honorary degree!  Hopefully you’ll learn from my mistakes.  Good luck to you!