Book review of "Web Design On A Shoestring" (free)
Carrie Bickner's book "Web Design On A Shoestring" is being much talked-about as a good blueprint for techniques, technologies and processes to get maximum-quality web sites on a minimal budget. DMXzone staffer Bruce Lawson reviews the book, and as a bonus, you can read chapter two of the book "The Pound Wise Project Plan".
Establish Your Technical Requirements
Defining your technical requirements early is just as important of a money-saving device as defining your project goal or functional requirements. In the first years of my career as a web professional, I worked on a few sites whose technical requirements were left vague. This lack of clear technical requirements sometimes came back to haunt us. In one instance, we hired a consultant who developed a beautiful site for us. The site was wonderful in the current version of the Netscape browser, but it broke when we viewed it in Internet Explorer. Our target browsers had not been formally identified, and the consultant had assumed that the site needed to work only on Netscape. (As you can tell, this is not a recent story.) After a little tooth pulling, our consultant adjusted his markup and code so the site would work on a wider set of browsers. He also picked up the bill for the extra hours of labour. If we had defined our target browsers early, however, he would have saved time and money, and we would have saved the administrative overhead that was required to facilitate the fix.
Clearly defined technical requirements can keep you from burning up your budget on these kinds of post-production fixes. Explain your needs simply, in plain English. When you have created this language, you can use it again in subsequent Requests for Proposal (RFP) and other web-development documents.
If you are a client, make sure that you turn in this information to your vendor. If you are the vendor, you might have to help your client determine technical requirements. The initial work might seem time-consuming, but it will save heaps of time and money in the long run. Here are some technical requirements that I have been using that have successfully saved me time, money, and stress.
Technical Requirements Checklist
Some of the items that should be included on your technical requirements document include these:
- Target browsers and operating systems - Do you care about 4.0 browsers?
Only modern browsers? Handheld devices? Do you care whether your site works
on a PC, or are your users on Macs? Be sure to list these receiving devices
explicitly, accurately, and carefully. Use this list to test browser performance
as you go. (Don't wait until the project is finished to test it in the targeted
browsers and devices. Fixing problems that late in the game is far more costly
than spotting them earlier in the process.)
- HTML and CSS - Do you have a particular HTML and Cascading Style
Sheet specification in mind? (Hint: The answer is "yes." I go over
this topic and how it can save you money in Chapter 7, "Save Time and
Money with Web Standards.")
- Scripting - Be explicit about how your professionals should use
JavaScript. I personally believe that every function must work when JavaScript
is turned off. This keeps a broader range of users happy, including those
who lack access to JavaScript-capable browsers.
- Servers and databases - Make sure that you are explicit about the
server on which the site will run, and the middleware and database applications
that are supported.
- Bandwidth requirements - Take the time to determine whether your audience is primarily using low- or high-speed Internet connections. If most are on some kind of broadband connection such as DSL or cable, you will not have to worry about speed optimization as much as you would if most users were on dial-up connections. On intranets, everyone might be on the same high-speed network. With public sites, as of this writing, at least half of your visitors are likely to be at dial-up speeds of 56K and less. Web Site Optimization's free online bandwidth report keeps track of public connection speeds at work and at home (http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/).
After conducting a survey based on this checklist, it's time to sit down and write your technical requirements document. Keep it short, sweet, and easy to read. Listing the technical requirements formally will protect you from paying for development that you can't use. The specifications discussed in the following chapters are not comprehensive; they are simply examples that are intended to get you thinking about these cost-sensitive issues.
Bickner, WEB DESIGN ON A SHOESTRING, ISBN: 0-7357-1328-6,
Reproduced by permission on Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as New Riders
Publishing.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Ian Blackham
Following a degree in Chemistry and a doctorate in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Ian spent several years wrestling with acronyms in industrial R&D (SEM with a side order of EDS, AFM and TEM augmented with a topping of XPS and SIMS and yet more SEM and TEM).
Feeling that he needed a career with more terminology but less high voltages, Ian became a technical/commissioning editor with Wrox Press working on books as diverse as Beg VB Application Development and Professional Java Security. After Wrox's dissolution and a few short term assignments Ian became content manager at DMXzone.
Ian is a refugee from the industrial Black Country having slipped across the border to live in Birmingham. In his spare time he helps out with the website of a local history society, tries to makes sure he does what his wife Kate says, and worries that the little 'un Noah is already more grown up than he is.
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