Interface Systems went online with its Web site in 1995. Like a lot of companies, its first site was mostly basic information about the company, and the whole project was done by someone in the company who understood the programming language needed.
By 1997, the Web was a hot commodity to some, and a complete unknown to others. Interface, which makes software solutions for Internet billing and electronic document distribution, decided it was time to take the Web very seriously. The company outsourced the whole project to a development firm.
“We were quite happy with the Web site, but we needed to have the flexibility to update things,” says Matt Cardwell, marketing creative director for the company. “Different firms charge different ways. A company needs to make sure when they’re going in what the best way to pay for it will be.”
In the next incarnation of the site, the project was brought back inside. A Web development firm was contracted to handle the complex aspects, while a few people at Interface were trained to handle updates. A Webmaster now oversees the administration of the site, and marketing has gotten involved in it as well.
“This has been a good mix of in-house and outsourced tasks,” says Cardwell. “Because of the nature of the complexity, it’s a real hassle for any one person to do everything.”
Having been through the process, here are the lessons Interface learned:
- Know what your business objectives are before you create the site. “It’s really important when you conceive your Web site that you make sure you know what you want up there,” says Cardwell. “It sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s more difficult than you think. Your whole business plan has to be in order, or it will muddy what the company is trying to do, and it will really show through on your site.”
- Don’t fall into the technology trap. Animation and other bells and whistles may look great, but if your visitors have to download a plug-in to view them, they probably won’t bother, so be careful what you use. You want to look cutting edge, but not at the expense of driving away viewers. Framesets look really good, but search engines do not catalog them very well, so consider the tradeoffs for that design feature.
- Make your site is easy to use, not just for your customers, but for your employees as well. Unless you’re outsourcing all Web changes, your employees need to be able to make the changes with minimal hassle to keep the site current.
- Get the executive team to buy in early on. Make certain you put together a thorough plan prior to building any site, and make sure the leadership reads and signs off on the plan. This will ensure that everyone has shared expectations, and cut down on revisions later on.
- Expect changes. “A Web site is an ongoing process,” says Cardwell. “You are not going to get everything right the first time; technology is moving too fast. Even if you go outside the company, the site may not work the way you want it to the first time. A Web site will never be where it should be. It’s not like a brochure, where you print it and you’re done. The Web is always a work in progress.”
How to reach: Interface Systems, www.intface.com
Todd Shryock([email protected]) is SBN’s special reports editor.
