Getting Started

The hardest lesson to learn about web development is the need for proper Site planning. Until you've got clear answers to questions such as "what do we need a web site for?", "who is supposed to use it?", and "where will it be used?" you can't make a useful plan, and you're perhaps heading in the wrong direction. After all, Is the web the right medium for the communication requirements you have? Does anything like it already exist? There's no point in reinventing the wheel, after all. There are two other planning issues that are critically important to the success of the development of your web site. What content do you need? Does it already exist, or are you going to have to devote resources to creating it from scratch? And, finally, Who's going to build it?

Once you have a clear site plan, you will need to consider Site preparation issues. What's the time-frame? Do you have a realistic idea of how long everything will take to complete? What people and skills do you need? Do you have enough expertise and experience in your organisation, will you need advice, or direct assistance? What software and hardware do you need? Do you have the right tools for the job? All of these issues impact on the biggest question of all - What will it cost?.

But don't think that once you've built your web site that all the questions have been answered. After all, you may have a great looking web site, but Where will it be located?. And, perhaps the most common question that those who are new to the process forget to ask, Who will maintain it?

The notes below will give you some useful pointers to help you sort out what you need. IML can offer you constructive advice and services to help you with every step of the web development process. Contact us if you need further information.

Site planning:
Do you need a web site? • Who will use it? • Where will it be used? • What content do you need? • Is the web the right medium? • Does anything like it already exist? • Who's going to build it?

Site preparation:
What's the time-frame? • What people/skills do you need? • What software/hardware do you need? • Who will maintain it? • What will it cost? • Where will it be located?


Site planning

Do you need a web site?

When getting started on a new web development project, the first thing you need to determine is whether a web site is the best way to meet your needs. Web sites are expensive to make and they are not always the best solution. Answering these questions will help you decide:


Who will use it?

Consulting with users in the project planning stage of web development ensures that the end product meets their needs. Finding out about the users will also help you to determine the site structure, content scope and style, and elements of visual design and interactivity.


Where will it be used?

Information about where and under what conditions users access your site is vital for determining and resolving site usability and accessability issues. Information about these conditions will inform vital decisions about the site's design and functionality.


What content do you need?

Scoping the content for the site is a vital part of the planning stage of web development. The scope may change as you start to develop the web site and get a clearer picture of what the site will do and look like. Gather as much information as possible from the content expert and the users so you can answer these questions:


Is the web the right medium for what you need to do?

Materials published on the web need to be redesigned to suit the ways that people use computers and the specific structure, design and functionality of interactive media. Simply taking material from one medium, such as course notes, a book or video, and converting it into a web site is not always an appropriate use of the web or interactive media.

IML staff can advise you on the best use of new media and internet technologies for teaching and learning and for other purposes.


Does anything like it already exist?

It's cheaper to use a ready-made product than to reinvent the wheel and produce your own. Very often these products are designed to be adapted for different purposes. You can find existing products through web-based research. IML can also advise you on internal UTS products and external products that are suitable for your project.

The UTS Courses Database is an example of a flexible database product that has been adapted and integrated into many different UTS web sites (eg. UTS Web, Faculty of Education, Faculty of HSS). These sites publish data dynamically to the web from the same database, providing the public with the latest UTS course information specifically related to their own faculty or field. For our clients, this approach reduces the expense and time required to build and maintain their sites, and ensures their site content is always up-to-date.


Who's going to build it?

If you build it yourself, you will need:

If IML builds it for you

IML develops web sites for internal UTS clients as well as for external clients. Our web development process includes:


Site preparation

What's the time-frame?

The time-frame or schedule forms an important part of the web development plan. You should allow a realistic amount of time for completing each stage of web development.


What people/skills do you need?

Web development requires people with skills and expertise in many different aspects of interactive media production. We make up a different web team for each project, selecting people with the appropriate skills for developing the web site. In a small project, it is possible for a few people to share these roles, but they would need to have multiple skills.

The web team roles you may need are:


What software/hardware do you need?

Web development software

Software is the range of computer applications (or tools) you use on your computer to perform different tasks, eg. MS Word or PhotoShop.

The software you need to develop a web site depends on what kind of site it is and what functions you want it to have. Generally speaking, the more your web site does, the greater your software needs will be. IML uses this software for web development.

Web development hardware

Hardware is the computers, web servers, scanners and any other equipment you need to run your software or to support web development.

Most people already have the equipment they need for web development. For more information see Technical Development and Web Usability, Accessability & Compatibility. You can also consult IML staff on web development hardware for your project.


Who will maintain it?

Once the site has been developed, tested and delivered, someone must maintain the content so that it stays current. You need to develop a maintenance plan for the site early in the site planning process; it becomes part of the overall web development plan. The maintenance plan includes information about how the site will be maintained, who will produce and authorise new content and who will actually maintain the site.

See Site Maintenance for more information.


What will it cost?

Costing web development is difficult because every web site is different. Commissioning databases, original photography and multimedia components, or purchasing copyright to materials can all add to the cost of developing a web site. A rough guide to the cost of developing a small, medium and large sized web project is:

If you choose to use IML to help you with your website, they can provide you with an exact cost after taking a detailed brief.


Where will it be located?

Your web development plan must include information about where web site will be located (ie. which server), and what the site's url (web address) will be. You can consult IML staff about a location for your web site, or contact the UTS Information Technology Division (ITD).