8 Things You Should Pay Attention To
What should you do when you launch a website project? How do you start off your project? No matter you are an expert or a novice in web design, there are things you should notice about.
You will find the complexity and the cost of a project snowballing when more and more people get involved – both internally and externally - even though you simply create a website with only a few pages. Basically, you need to maintain a professional look of your website to show what kind of business you are doing and what key messages you want to tell your target audience. The fundamental elements of a website include corporate logo, information about the company, products and services and contact methods. The complexity of a website will depend on whether you want to collect customer’s data, sell goods online, or make better internal communication. We will act as consultants to bring you the most suitable solution to your website project based on your needs.
Get the right website for the right price with the help of this Focus buyer’s guide on web design. Pay attention to the 8 suggestions below:
Understand the Contracts
Depending on the company and the project scope, the website project may start in a different ways:
Least Complicated project: For a simple website, a standard website package that includes a specific number of pages, standard layouts, and potentially a simple e-commerce system will be chosen. There’s not much bargaining, so you either accept the price or you don’t. For additional pages or interactive features, you will be charged by fixed costs. Always sign a contract specifying the completion dates and deliverables.
Medium-complexity project: In this case, the design company will provide an estimate in the first meeting, listing all the expected hours required for design, production, development testing, and maintenance, and the cost per hour for each task as well. They will then bill the actual amount to you. Remember to include a clause in the contract about the prior notification of additional tasks or any extra costs that exceed the estimate. If you do not approve, they cannot bill you the large sum of overrun.
Most complicated project: For a larger web project, it will typically involve an additional step - to create a detailed document clearly stating all the requirements after you and the vendor agree to the initial estimate. They will work with you to create the document specifying how the site will work (e.g. mockups, prototype). It is very important to get consent from both parties in order to avoid miscommunication and misunderstanding later. You may have to pay up to 20% of the total estimate for the document but it’s worthwhile especially for a large website project.
No matter what size of your project is, you should ensure the following points to be written in the contract:
- The total estimated cost and the notification requirements for overruns
- Detailed cost breakdowns for different employees or services
- Specified responsibilities for design, content, development, testing and signoff
- Deadlines set for reviews and delivery, and the consequences for the lateness as well. (It also applies to you because if you deliver feedback late, their final delivery will also be delayed.)
- Maintenance agreements, if applicable
- Hosting details, if applicable
