Steps for a web project (Before) [Part I]

Before you start any web project. [I discussed these in earlier posts]

• Establish your business ethics (rules)


• Evaluate your skills and anyone that will be involved
  
• Know your strengths and limitations


• Establish a network of others that have skills to make up for your limitations

NOTE: Are you a specialist in:

• SEO


• Accessibility


• Databases like mySQL


• Interfacing to databases (PHP/PERL/ASP)


• FLASH and ActionScript


• JavaScript


• Video for the web

Of course you are not an authority of all these.

Rest assured, a client will expect you to be an expert on everything you offer, especially if you use a “third-party” application on their web site.

This is why it is so important to establish a network of others that can make available the needed skills for a project.

Now you know what you have to offer a potential client. Let us move on to when a potential client contacts you to create a new web site or renovate an existing web site.

Make sure you and the client are “On The Same Page.” Never ASSUME they know what you mean and DO NOT ASSUME you know what they are thinking.

This will come back and haunt you and could costs you much. Yes, I said costs YOU. I have known other web designers having to pay for a former client’s new web site because the designer ASSUMED wrong.

The following is before any agreement or contract is made and signed.

• Provide the client a list of questions (Preliminary Information/Questionnaire).


• This lets you and the client be aware of what is wanted


• This preliminary information takes much of the ASSUME factor out


• This allows you to bring others in from your network


• This will tell you if the client’s project is beyond your scope of
  skill sets, timeline too tight, etc.

Once you have the Questionnaire and discussed all the answers the client provided:

Create a proposal for the client. This serves three purposes.

• Allows the client know (without ASSUMING) you understand what they want


• Provides valuable information of what the project is. This prevents any change of the client’s expectations later.


• This gives you the information and groundwork for your contract with the client