Website Project Management:
Things to Know Before You Start
Marketing teams are busy. Attorneys and executives are focused on clients. Website projects require attention to detail, experience and focus. It is no wonder then, that many organizations struggle to get website redesign projects over the finish line. In this article, we’ll cover the steps in a website redesign process, some of the common hurdles, and how to overcome them.
Website development project management is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling the development of a website from start to finish. It involves coordinating a team of designers, developers, content creators, IT, and other professionals to ensure that the project is completed on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. It is a big job.
Identifying a Website Development Service Provider
You may have an existing relationship with a web development firm that you like and trust. If you do not, the first step in your process will be drafting a request for proposals. When creating your RFP you will need to define the target audience, the purpose of the website, and the desired functionality. The more detailed the RFP, the fewer surprises for you or for your service provider once the project gets underway. The RFP should also outline any specific technical requirements, such as the need for a certain content management system or integration with other systems.
Examples of the kind of items that appear in an RFP are as follows. :
- Design process and number of revisions
- Number of pages
- Website Platform
- Annual hosting fees
- Required security features.
- Desired search functionality
- Number of website forms
- Identification of preferred CMS platform such as WordPress
- Integration with other platforms such as a CRM or Marketing Automation platform
- Additional language support
- Accessibility requirements
The list of requirements will differ based on the needs of your firm or company.
The RFP should also include details on the selection process, such as the criteria that will be used to evaluate proposals and the timeline for making a decision.
Once the RFP is complete, you will need to identify a list of potential service providers. They will review the document and submit a proposal outlining their approach to the project, including a detailed budget and timeline.
The proposals you receive from service providers will vary in their formatting and presentation. You’ll need to organize these in a way that allows you to compare them effectively. An Excel spreadsheet is sufficient for this purpose. Once you have organized responses in this way, you will be able to make an apples-to-apples evaluation of service providers and select the one that best meets your needs and budget.
Design Phase
Once the service provider has been selected, the next step in the project should be the design phase. This involves working with designers to create a visually appealing layout that positions the organization competitively in its market. In most cases, design starts with layouts of the homepage. The homepage is often the first page a visitor encounters when visiting a website, so it serves an important role in communicating your brand. The design of your homepage should be based on a strong understanding of the intended audience, and of firm or company goals. Know which parts of your business you want to grow or maintain. Understand the concerns of those audiences, and develop messaging and visuals that speak to their needs and concerns. Important attention should also be paid to messaging hierarchy of a homepage, starting with a strong brand statement, follow-up messaging that substantiates the brand message, and finally differentiators. How will you deliver a service more effectively than your competitors? Why should a potential client choose you?
When the homepage is completed to your satisfaction and you provide final approval, it will serve as a style guide for the internal pages of the website.
Website Navigation
In addition to the homepage, website navigation should be addressed early in the project. Start by identifying the big buckets and keep your top-level navigation as broad as possible. This will preserve flexibility in the event that you add pages or content areas at a later date. Top-level navigation should be clear and should be uncluttered. Try keeping it below 10 items. A law firm website might have top-level navigation that looks like this:
- About
- Attorneys
- Practice Areas
- Industries
- Resources
- Offices
- Careers
- Contact
Once top-level navigation is established, map out the subsections of the website under each of the top categories. For small websites, an Excel spreadsheet is more than adequate for this. For larger websites, using visual site map software can be extremely helpful. Our favorite is Dynomapper (dynomapper.com). Dynomapper will crawl an existing site and map out each level of navigation which provides a very useful starting point. The site map can then be edited to reflect the desired changes for the new website. You also have the option to start from scratch. Here is a list of software options for creating visual site maps:
DYNOMAPPER.COM
MINDMUP.COM
SLICKPLAN.COM
WRITEMAPS.COM
POWERMAPPER.COM
LOGHOUND.COM
Programming
With a site map and approved designs in hand, your development team can begin the process of coding your site. This is the point at which the site becomes functional, and features such as animations, and integrations are built. This is done in a staging environment which is a private online location where you will be able to review your website before it launches. As the development team completes each section of the site, it should be reviewed for desired functionality and adherence to the original designs. When programming is complete, you will have a functioning website that is ready to be populated with content.
Content Creation and Content Migration
The development of a new website is an opportunity to revisit your website content and determine if it still reflects your brand and your audience’s needs. If you have been attentive to your content on an on-going basis, you may have little to do in the way of re-writing. If you have not, it is never too soon to start. Creating content takes time, and busy teams often put this off. When they do, projects stall. Start your content development as soon as you identify the pages on your site. Some pages like attorney bios, about pages, and contact pages are a given, and can get started even before a site outline has been nailed down.
Bear in mind that content in this context refers to more than the written word. Content is also photography, video, infographics, etc… If you are redoing staff headshots, do this early!
Once the content is ready, whether you are uploading new content or migrating content from your existing website, you want to make sure nothing gets missed. If you regularly publish press releases, thought leadership, or make edits to existing content like calendars or team member pages, you want to establish a cut-over date. This is the date at which you stop updating your old site and start populating the new site. It is important to make this clear and be firm so that you minimize the period during which you will have to update two websites – your staging site and your existing site.
Some portions of your site may be able to be migrated programmatically rather than manually. For example, WordPress has a feature that will allow you to migrate blog content from one site to another without having to manually upload to the new site.
Q&A
Once the content is in place, it is time for internal review. Identify people who have not been intimately involved in the project and ask them to participate in the review process. Using online tools can make this process easier. Tools like Grammarly can make proofing and editing faster. Tools like BugHerd.com provide an interface to mark up a website with notes for other team members, whether they are notes regarding copy, or programming.
If you have complex functionality, such as sophisticated integrations with other pieces of software, your web team should develop test scenarios and have several stakeholders run through them.
Always be sure to check the site in multiple browsers and on mobile as it may behave differently in different environments.
Planning for Launch
The launch of a new website is the culmination of hard work on the part of a whole team. Like a theatre production, there may be a star or two, but the effort is a collective one. To ensure that the launch goes smoothly make sure you have access to your domain name. If you purchased your domain name through well-known domain name registrars like GoDaddy or Network Solutions, you will need the login information to those accounts. Check with your IT support people regarding anything else that might be associated with that domain (email, intranets, portals) and make sure they won’t be affected when the new site goes live.
What are the characteristics of a good website project manager?
Stay flexible. Despite your best efforts, things don’t always go as planned. Keep a close eye on the budget and timeline to ensure that the project stays on track. Be ready to make adjustments to the scope of the project or negotiate with the service provider to make changes to the timeline or budget.
Communicate, and then communicate some more. Keeping stakeholders well informed will reduce the potential for surprises late in the project. The earlier issues are identified, the easier and less costly they are to solve. You don’t need to be a programmer, but having enough familiarity with technology to be able to communicate with technical and non-technical stakeholders is important.
After communication, diplomacy is your most important tool when managing a website development project. Every member of the organization will want to see their vision, and their area of operation reflected on the site. Be ready to explain the decision-making process. Where possible use data on usability and best practices to support you. Remember that you can’t please everyone and don’t let perfect be the enemy of done.
