When Worlds Collide:
The Marketer Meets the Web Developer
Clear communication is the key to success. As a marketer, you know how your website should look, what it should say, and what features you’d like to include to maximize your push-to-web campaigns. You even have someone ready to start implementing your vision. You’ve thought of everything, right?
Well, maybe not everything.
Will your site use HTML or ASP? Does your hosting company support the forms you plan to use to capture lead data? Is your server on a Windows or Linux platform? How many unique design templates need to be coded? These are just a few of the technical decisions your web developer needs to make before coding begins. That is if you want to avoid budget and schedule crushing issues during the development of your site.
We all know that bridging the gap between the non-technical and the technically savvy can be challenging at best. Who hasn’t experienced that sinking feeling when a developer reveals you can't ask customers the questions you planned (and assumed would be possible) during order check out because you need to integrate with a database to do so. And, adding database integration is going to put you over budget and behind schedule. Fortunately, these moments can be avoided with some upfront planning and clear communication between the marketer and the web developer.
But how can you merge these two worlds--effectively and efficiently--while maintaining your (and your technical person's) sanity?
To define and communicate your non-technical vision to your technical Webmaster or developer, you need a plan. Actually, you need a Website Planning and Requirements Document, a Website Functional Specification, and a Website Content Specification. For now, let's focus on the Website Functional Specification because it answers all the pertinent technical questions regarding your website’s goals, layout, functionality, content, and technical requirements your developer will need. Developing a website functional specification requires you to tightly interact with your developer throughout the planning process and should cover the following sections in DETAIL:
- Project Overview
- Summary of Features
- Sitemap
- Page Layouts
- Process Flow for Each Feature
- Web Style Guide
- HTML File Names and Keywords
- Image File Names and Sizes
The elements described above not only ensure your web developer understands your vision for the site, it also establishes a baseline from which you can agree to make changes and tradeoffs based on technology, budget, and schedule. More importantly, you will both have a solid understanding of what the site needs to look like and do upon completion.
Working with your technical person while finalizing this document will gain his/her buy-off on the project and make the development process go much more smoothly—all while avoiding those hair-pulling moments between the non-technical and technical we'd all like to avoid.
Again, download our Website Functional Specification Template for more detail about what you need to include in each of the sections above and get your technical resource the information they need!
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The Sales and Marketing Toolkits BUNDLED contains:
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Over 60 sales and marketing templates (DOC, XLS, PPT, and PDFs)
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Loads of "how-to" articles and examples
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8 Training sessions (MP3 audio files) for your computer or iPod
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