what to do when suddenly asked to create a website for a company (or school to be exact)

[enil14someone]

err, dunno if i managed to put it in the right thread but if i didn't, please tell me. thank you.

 

 

getting back on topic, my father asked me to create a website for a school. i know how to make a website but the problem is, how do i start? should i ask about their objectives or something? color of the webpage etc? in short, i don't know the practicalities and processes used in making a website for a certain client. you could say this would be my first time in doing this (kind of like an on-the-job training) so...any ideas? i would very much appreciate any help given.  

[Psycho]

Start with what sections/features they want. I would probably look at some different school websites to see what they have available: school calendar, mission statement, location, about us, contact us, list of teachers/administrators, etc. etc. As you review these, think about whether the pages would be static, could be static or dynamic and which ones would be static. For example, a page about the mission statement would likely be static. There's no reason to build an elaborate editing feature for the mission statement page which might consist of various font and images when the mission statement would almost never change. Then there are pages that could be dynamic but don't have to be. That's a cost/benefit decision the client would make. Would it be more cost effective to pay the extra money to make it a page that can be managed through an editing page vs. hiring someone when those changes are needed. Then, there are pages that would almost definitely be dynamic: e.g. monthly calendar. But, even for these you have to consider the cost of building an elaborate process of updating vs. a simple solution. Perhaps the school produces a monthly calendar that gets printed each month. If so, the web page could be updated by the school simply by providing a way for them to upload an image rather than building an elaborate calendar system.

 

So, do a review of various features on similar sights and think about those types of questions and the possible solutions. Then you can sit with the customer and ask them what they want. It's likely they have some ideas but haven't really though about the entire site. Maybe the initial reason they are wanting the site is to provide information in the event of an emergency and haven't thought about anything else. So, ask them what they want. They will likely only give partial or vague information. Using the information and analysis you did above you can then guide them into more refined requirements.

[dalecosp]

If you are doing this for payment, beware of "feeping creaturism" ... (feature creep) ... try and get all expectations written down and "signed off" on ... even with a signature (I do realize you said this is your father ... I would assume if it's a personal favor for him, the signature wouldn't be necessary ... but even then it's not the MOST terrible idea ).

 

They will likely only give partial or vague information. Using the information and analysis you did above you can then guide them into more refined requirements.

Hear here!

I'd also add that once you have some requirements, you might look at "OOB" solutions ... could this be done with Wordpress ...?  Drupal?  PHP Nuke?  A framework, like Laravel/Symfony?

[enil14someone]

Thanks for our advice guys

 

 

 try and get all expectations written down and "signed off" on ... even with a signature (I do realize you said this is your father ... I would assume if it's a personal favor for him, the signature wouldn't be necessary ... but even then it's not the MOST terrible idea ).

 

uhm, regarding the "signing" part, my teacher said that since our course (Computer Engineering) doesn't have any licensure examination (meaning we aren't really an "eligible" engineer.) were not allowed  to be on contracts so I don't know if that's applicable.

[KevinM1]

You don't need a contract in this case, but you need to make sure that the requirements and scope of the project are put in place before you start working on it to help guard against feature creep. Clients are notoriously capricious. They love adding "just one more thing," which becomes many small things, most of which are either useless or gaudy. And since clients think they have great ideas and design sensibilities, they tend to care more about the bells and whistles they suggest than the important things, like if the site fulfills its stated function, because that's boring.

It's up to you to ensure that doesn't happen. The customer is not always right.

So, like the others have said you need to do your homework and ask smart questions. Look at what other schools in your area, or schools that are of a similar size, have for their websites. Start thinking about the tech that they use - do they have a blog? Some kind of content management system (CMS)? - and research available solutions. Dale mentioned some in his post. Make sure you ask the client about how they envision using the site. It may sound obvious, but clients can get very picky about how certain things are done. They tend to like a workflow that mirrors how they work in real life, so be sure to get whatever mechanical parts (blog, lesson plan, grades, attendance, etc.) down and all the steps regarding their access and display. "How do you want it to work?" is a critical question. And, of course, confer on the site design. It would be beneficial for you to bring examples of those schools you researched (printouts of screenshots can suffice) to get the ball rolling. Be sure to ask them about not just what they like in terms of web design, but what they dislike. And be prepared to talk about fonts.

It sounds like a lot, and it is. Your best bet is to treat it like your first professional gig. With this, you're not a student and this isn't a school project or favor. You're an intern/employee and you're working for a client. So behave as a professional would, and you'll be fine.

Welcome to the real world