Website specifications

E

Edge

Active Member
It's surprising the number of times I'd found it quite hard to actually get someone to be specific about what they want. Brief email, quick phone call and they want a quote - makes me run mile. I understand that for some creating a specification may be their first time so here's a website specification guide to helping you. if you don't want to read that, in summary your spec should have the following:
  • some backgrounf information about your company and business model
  • Specific objectives of the website
  • Target audiences
  • Competitor analysis
  • Your plans for managing content
  • Specific functionality
  • Browsers, devices and OS's which need supporting
  • Some likes and dislikes
  • Delivery timescales
  • Any SEO, social media or PPC required
  • Budget

It doesn't have to be totally comprehensive but at least provide something in writing to get the conversation going and to show us you mean business!
 
Useful reading!

I frequently come up against this as a lot of my work is through a third party who 'remembers' what was discussed in meetings and calls me a few days later to pass it on. :dizzy:

I find the toughest one is extracting a deadline/timescale from people. They always start with "Oh there's no rush"... then 2 weeks later are desperate to have the site live for the big trade show that weekend.
 
bigdave said:
I frequently come up against this as a lot of my work is through a third party who 'remembers' what was discussed in meetings
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Yup - I get that. Stock reply is 'show me something in writing that says you wanted this'. If it was so important why wasn't it in the spec or at least an email - why was it only mentioned in a meeting? I specifically say in the contract anything discussed in a meeting does not form a part of the scope of the work - it has to be in the spec. Often ideas ARE discussed in meetings and often they are abandoned in the same meeting.
 
I find that a lot of the time, the client does not know what they want. So eventually you come up with something they like and they are all happy. The project is live, then a few months later it was not what they agreed and suddenly they hate it.
 
Robert Broley said:
I find that a lot of the time, the client does not know what they want. So eventually you come up with something they like and they are all happy. The project is live, then a few months later it was not what they agreed and suddenly they hate it.
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I think one of the major problems is there is no budget for an ongoing marketing campaign which would do something with the new website and they sit there expecting amazing things and all of a sudden nothing happens.
 
Edge said:
I think one of the major problems is there is no budget for an ongoing marketing campaign which would do something with the new website and they sit there expecting amazing things and all of a sudden nothing happens.
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Budget for a 'basic site' – anywhere from £1000 to £3000

Budget for marketing said site – £0
 
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