So you've heard about the internet, the world wide web, and you're persuaded that you need to be a part of it. There are many good reasons why this might be so. The internet is a powerful medium, reaching ever increasingly into the lives of billions around the globe. For a business it is a great way to reach new customers and keep existing ones informed; for clubs and societies the internet can provide a virtual meeting place where members can stay in touch; educational establishments can provide on-line teaching and support to students. There are very few organisations that cannot benefit these days from having a web presence.
But what about you? It is not uncommon for people, aware that there is a revolution going on around them, want to be a part of it, but don't really appreciate the full benefit of doing so. This can lead to missed opportunities. (This, by the way, is as applicable to the giants of the computer industry as it is to you or I. Many of them failed to see the internet and its impact coming, not seeing where it would take us all, in just a matter of years.) For example: if you have a shop, certainly it would be a good idea to use the internet to advertise it. But why stop there ? How about using the internet to sell directly to your customers? Increasing numbers of people use the web to buy their goods, many prefer this method to using the traditional outlets. Lots of retailers now sell exclusively through the internet, the worlds largest market place.
As much as possible you should be aware of what you want once the process of designing and building a website has begun. This means thinking through what you hope to achieve. Take a look at other websites which have a similar audience to the one you seek. What are they offering? Could you do the same? Imagine that you were one of their customers, is there anything you could provide that they, for whatever reason, don't? At Jupiter Dreams we can assist you with this process, feel free to discuss with us what you require and what the possibilities are.
So now you know what you want to achieve. What next? Well, we now need to consider the website's content. This boils down to the web pages themselves. All sites have a default home page, what should yours say exactly? Perhaps you would like a photo gallery, a menu, a price list. Maybe you feel the site should have a discussion forum, where visitors can leave comments. And if you want to sell via the website we will need to consider how that process will take place. Once again, Jupiter Dreams is here to help should you require it, helping you decide what should be in and what should be out.
One other factor that should be considered before work can begin is something we refer to as 'look and feel'. This concerns how we present the content to the website visitor – it includes colour schemes, logos, images as well as navigation menus and possible links to other sites. In short it concerns the style of the website. Of course, we would expect the website for a laundrette to look markedly different from that of a rock group, for instance (hmm... or would we?).
When it comes to look and feel, you may already have a good idea what you require. If your organisation already has a logo, or perhaps a well established colour scheme, then we are half way there. You may have marketing artwork already prepared. If you do then that is all to the good. If not, don't worry. Design is all part of what we do. How much you get involved is up to you.
So, now we have given the website a purpose, we know what it will do and how it will look. What next? This is where the code for the website has to be written, where typically we at Jupiter Dreams roll up our sleeves and get to it. How long this will take depends. A very basic catalogue style website can be written in a few days. A full blown e-commerce system might take months. We always try to give an expected date of delivery based on what we know of your requirements and you can generally expect us to keep to that. Of course, ideally, if we have gone through the design phases properly we could disappear and the next time you hear from us is when the website is ready to go at the appointed time. That's how many in IT would like it to work; that's how many in the industry pretend it does work; sometimes, just sometimes, it does work just a little bit like that. In reality though the process is usually rather more dynamic, there's a real world out there. Sometimes this happens for good reasons: you, or sometimes us, may see a previously unnoticed opportunity to improve on the site's design. Often, as well, the organisation may make changes that impact the websites functionality. Legal and financial considerations can play a part. And, especially on the larger builds, you will of course want to check on us to see how we are progressing and this can often lead to a change of plan.
Also, Jupiter Dreams prefer to regard website builds as a collaboration between you and us. Essentially, we think that the contribution to the website construction that you want to provide, is exactly the right contribution that you should be making. We will listen, we will advise, we will even argue with you if we think we should. But it's your project. We won't lose sight of that.
And then the day will come when we go 'live' with your website, making it available to the world. What then? Is that it? Sometimes it might be. But the best sites rarely stay the same. The web, like the world at large, is an ever changing thing. And your business / club / establishment / or whatever has to move on. We would expect your website to reflect that. Very often, even as the go live date approaches, we will be already fermenting new ideas in our minds, plotting new directions and considering enhancements to what we have already achieved. There may still be much to do. Well now, won't that be something to look forward to...