profitable website projects - the oreo cookie strategy
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PROFITABLE WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT THE OREO COOKIE STRATEGY
WORDCAMP SACRAMENTO 2016
CHANGE YOUR THINKING
A website is not advertising — it’s a complex piece of application software
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CHANGE YOUR THINKING
Planning is not nice to have, it’s key — plan for success and success will come
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THE OREO COOKIE STRATEGY
It’s not an Oreo without the crunchy outsides
Put as much thought into planning and development as you put into design
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PLANNING…
Projects don’t fail at the end, they fail at the beginning
5Jeff Christiansen — Toon Town / Magic Kingdom
DISCOVERY
Use Discovery to document everything before you start
1. What’s the objective?
2. Functional requirements
3. Technical requirements
4. Determine the architecture (sitemap)
5. Present everything in an annotated wireframes
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HOW DESIGN CONTRIBUTES
The tasty center is important — but it is often where the budget goes off the rails
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HOW DESIGN CONTRIBUTES
Review the wireframes with the developers — early and often
Provide designs for all pages and functionalities
Understand the technology — include the developers in the design process
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HOW DESIGN CONTRIBUTES
Mobile first — responsive or adaptive, know the difference
Provide mobile designs and consider mobile navigation
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LET THE DEVELOPERS DRIVE THE BUILD
Give them clear design direction
Follow the review process
Mange changes/accept that there will be changes
Let the dev. team drive — it’s their turn
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THE BUDGET
Clients: don’t bring a knife to a gun fight
Agencies: charge for your work
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Charge for Discovery — it’s worth a lot
A solid foundation saves everyone money
Equally important, Discovery makes projects go smoother — this saves money
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Ask for the budget and get a deposit — money up front, ideally in the bank, helps keep it serious
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Charge for Project Management and set boundaries — some clients need a lot of hand-holding
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Charge for training and documentation — it takes time and draws on your IP
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Change orders are your friend — repeat after me…
“Anything can be done with enough time and budget.”
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Document the scope (Discovery) and use this for the phase one budget
Changes — there will be changes — become change orders or get parked for inclusion in phase two
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Track time, even if it’s fixed bid — do you really know how long it takes?
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Define the post launch grace period in the SOW and then charge for support — WordPress websites require regular support and maintenance
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Charge for content entry — you can do it faster than the client can, this is worth something
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THE OREO COOKIE STRATEGY
What you need for a profitable website development project:
• A clear and documented understanding of the website’s functional and technical requirements;
• A site map and wire frame to communicates the site’s structure and functional requirements;
• A solid, thought through design;
• An efficient build, and
• Charge for what you do
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THE OREO COOKIE STRATEGY
Like an Oreo, all the layers are important. Without the crunch, the planning and the build, the tasty bit, the design, is just a gooey mess
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