AS competition among industry players tightens, web-site developers nowadays observe stricter standards compliance and harness innovations and best practices to keep the web site quality, a programmer said.
The technical teams involved in developing web sites are continuously upgraded in terms of know-how and skills in keeping relevance to the evolving industry, pointed out Marc Reb Adina, a team leader at Sytian IT Solutions Inc.
In their case, three teams collaborate in developing a web site: the design team, the development team and the quality assurance team, Adina explained.
The design team is in charge of devising layouts and designs, he said. The development team applies the required codes based on the approved design, which is later given a go-ahead by the client.
Developing a good web site is a joint commitment between the client and the developer, Adina said. The entire idea comes from the client himself. The job of the developer is to realize that idea within a specified period of time.
“It starts by providing the client with a questionnaire wherein he stipulates his requirements,” he said.
Based on the client’s response in the questionnaire, his team comes up with a mock-up design of the web site. Normally, two to three mock-up designs are submitted to the client before he greenlights the development of the web site.
Soon after, the team proceeds to developing the inner pages, which include the tabs and menus, Adina explained.
“Once the client approves the mock-up design, the team starts coding to meet the client’s requirements,” he said. “We need the layout approved by the client before we start coding since it’s difficult to edit the web site once finished. It’s like tearing down a newly constructed house and rebuilding it to apply the changes.”
More than a dozen people are involved in developing a web site, according to Adina. He added these are divided into teams.
Nonetheless, Adina said three persons can develop a basic web site.
Even one person can do it if he or she has the knowledge and skills for both design and coding, he said. But, ideally, it takes more people to make one of good quality, he added.
“Web-site development requires mastery,” he noted. “One team should focus on design, another on coding, and one more on quality to come up with an excellent web site.”
Adina dwells on web-site development. His forte is coding.
Developing a web site normally takes a period of 30 days on the average, he explained. The whole period starts from providing the client with the questionnaire.
“But developing a web site may take longer than a month. It usually happens when the client takes too long to accomplish the questionnaire.”
A web site may cost the client from P20,000 to P200,000 and even higher, Adina said.
Most clients prefer theme-based web sites, which costs less. When the client chooses this option, the project bypasses the web-site design team by default and instantly gets into the hand of the development team, he said, citing Sytian’s experience.
The theme is installed and modified based on the requirements of the client, he added.
The web-site design takes an average of five days, while coding can take up to 20 days, Adina explained. The web site undergoes quality inspection during the remaining days of the normal period of 30 days.
The development team should have met what the approved layout had asked for, he said. If the quality assurance team spots a missing element based on the approved design—like a dot, a tiny line, or a shadow–it is thrown back to the development team. Such unwanted elements sometimes escape the notice of the people in the web-site development team.
The quality assurance team ensures the inputs of coders go well with what are stipulated in the layout and design, Adina explained. The web-site appearance and its functionalities should meet the requirements set by the client. The quality assurance guys keep an eye more on the inputs of the development team than on the design team.
After the web site passes quality assurance, the web site is considered complete. The client undergoes turnover training, which is more on web-site management, like posting, editing, updating and removing contents.
Clients are discouraged from coding as it may result in web-site defacement and other issues, Adina said. The web site becomes vulnerable to threats, like web defacement, once its page displays an error.
“It’s like unlocking the door during sleep time,” he cautioned web-site owners.
Adina saw the number of industry players grew in recent years. Some were gone after a period of time due to issues like mismanagement.
The quality of web sites today owes to the tightening competition among players, he said.
Currently, Adina is assigned to develop and upgrade his team, in terms of technical know-how and skills, in keeping up with the emerging challenges in the industry. He came up with a more efficient method in imparting technical knowledge and skills that he acquired from his mentors and on the job.
He wishes to help his juniors become more creative and dynamic by motivating them to rise above the orthodox. Aside from working on team growth, he also handles on-the-job trainees.
Image credits: Adina
