Cost Effective Web Development

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10 COST EFFECTIVE WEB DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES

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OR: HOW CAN I MAKE THE BEST USE OF LIMITED DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT BUDGETS IN THESE INCREASINGLY CHALLENGING ECONOMIC TIMES?

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SOMEWHERE OUT THERE LIES A WORLD OF LIMITLESS BUDGETS

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WHEN BUDGETS ARE TIGHT EVERYONE WORKS HARDER

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F A S T E R CHEAPER BETTER STRONGER WITH FEWER RESOURCES AVAILABLE

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S O M E T E C H N I Q U E S A R E TECHNICAL BUT MANY ARE ABOUT WORKFLOW

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I’M DREW MCLELLAN E D G E O F M Y S E AT. C O M ~ @ D R E W M I HELP PEOPLE BUILD THINGS ON THE WEB

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HERE’S THE TIPS PRESENTED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

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1 WRITE A COMPREHENSIVE SPECIFICATION FOR YOUR PROJECT

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& A GOOD SPEC DOES TWO THINGS LIMITS S C O P E E N A B L E S EFFICIENCY

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T H E E A S I E S T P L A C E TO CONTROL COSTS - IS IN - THE SPEC

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DESCRIBE HOW THE SITE WORKS FROM THE USER’S PERSPECTIVE NOT HOW IT’S IMPLEMENTED

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C H A N G E S A R E C H E A P T O M A K E O N PAPER

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ENABLES EFFICIENCY! DEVELOPMENT - CAN BE - PLANNED U P F R O N T

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- NO - ALARMS - NO - SURPRISES

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2 EVALUATE POSSIBLE EXISTING SOLUTIONS

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DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL

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EVALUATE AGAINST YO U R ( N OW S O L I D ) SPECIFICATION

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CONSIDER COMPROMISES: WHERE DOES COST MATTER MORE THAN FEATURES?

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USE EXISTING CODE AND BUILD 10% ON TOP - NOT - 100% FROM NOTHING

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3 CONSIDER THE COST OF YOUR DESIGN CHOICES

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T O U G H BUT NOT IMPOS S I B L E

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I T J U S T TA K E S TIME

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C O N S I D E R T H E DEVELOPMENT IMPLICATIONS O F E V E RY S I N G L E DESIGN CHOICE

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4 MAKE SURE YOUR DESIGN COVERS ALL STATES THE USER ENCOUNTERS

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GOING BACK & FORTH CO S T S T I M E

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& - CONSIDER - LOGGED IN LOGGED OUT

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& - CONSIDER - EMPTY STATES TOO MUCH DATA

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& - CONSIDER - WITH JAVASCRIPT WITHOUT

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& - CONSIDER - ERRORS MESSAGES

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MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IN THE SPEC IS DESIGNED

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5 DESIGN FOR REUSABILITY

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BUILD A TOOLKIT OF REUSABLE COMPONENTS

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DESIGN TO A GRID

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EVERY UNIQUE ELEMENT IS A SOURCE OF COST

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- A FEW - VERSATILE TEMPLATES IS BETTER THAN DOZENS

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6 REMEMBER: BROADBAND IS NOT A SILVER BULLET

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DESIGNING FOR BROADBAND PUTS EXTRA LOAD ON YOUR SERVERS

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- BANDWIDTH IS - EXPENSIVE C O N S I D E R Y O U R RUNNING COSTS

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JUST BECAUSE IT’S DIGITAL DOESN’T MEAN IT’S FREE

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7 PREPARE YOUR DESIGN FILES READY TO SEND ACROSS TO YOUR DEVELOPER

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MAKE IT EASY FOR YOUR DEVELOPER - TO - GET IT RIGHT

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MISTAKES - & - ADJUSTMENTS ARE EXPENSIVE

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GOING BACK AND FORTH COSTS TIME

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NAME AND GROUP - YOUR LAYERS -

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PROVIDE FLAT VERSIONS OF EACH STATE FOR REFERENCE

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HAND OVER A COLOUR GUIDE

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EXPLAIN YOUR GRID - DEVELOPERS WILL LOVE YOU -

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8 BUILD YOUR SITE FOR CHEAP MAINTENANCE

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ONCE A SITE IS BUILT IT HAS TO BE MAINTAINED

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C O N T E N T CHANGES S T RU C T U R E CHANGES U S E A G E CHANGES

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DESIGN & BUILD FOR FLEXIBILITY

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- AVOID - LABOUR-INTENSIVE TECHNIQUES SUCH AS TEXT AS IMAGES

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DON’T DESIGN EACH SECTION - IN A - DIFFERENT COLOUR

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CONSIDER HOW EACH ELEMENT RESPONDS TO CHANGE AND THE TIME IT WILL TAKE TO ADAPT IT

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9 BUILD YOUR SITE FOR LOW COST QUALITY ASSURANCE (THAT’S TESTING!)

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EVERY ELEMENT OF A SITE NEEDS TO BE TESTED

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- MULTIPLE - BROWSERS - MULTIPLE - PLATFORMS

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LOGGED IN - OR - LOGGED OUT

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JAVASCRIPT ON OR OFF

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FLASH INSTALLED OR NOT

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THERE ARE TWO OUTCOMES: TESTING GETS EXPENSIVE - OR - QUALITY SUFFERS

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CONSIDER THE TESTING OVERHEAD OF EVERYTHING YOU ADD

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10 BUILD ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS USE EXISTING APIS OUTSOURCE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE