Services

My primary service is "website development". Think of your website like a building -- my job is like the contractor, or builder. So I'm the person you trust to put it all together. Some parts I do myself, some of them I get help with, and if you've already got something started, I can work with what you've got. Unlike many building contractors, I'm a good communicator.

What I actually do for your website depends on your needs, but may include:

Requirements Gathering

Before we start any technical work or building, we have to know what you want. That is, what you really, really want, which I don't expect you to know ahead of time. It's easy to get lost in the many and changing technologies, and that misses the point - I'm talking about the real purpose of a website, which is communication in many forms.

A good process ends up with a document that describes in your language why you want a website, what you want to get from it, and how you want go about it, in as much detail as makes sense to you. I like to use "use case scenarios" to help think about who is going to use your site, and what you'd like them to get from it. This is also where we talk about visual design elements, accessibility, privacy and security requirements, etc. This document is the most important reference over the course of the project.

Technical Planning

This is where I convert what you say you want into a technical plan of how to get there. The technical plan serves many purposes, most importantly it helps me think through the consequences of impementing your requirements and helps me ask the right questions to clarify the missing bits in what you originally thought you wanted.

Delivery

The delivery takes place in phases. As soon as possible, you'll see the beginnings of your site, so that we can identify those things you forgot to mention in the requirements gathering, and the things that I didn't understand correctly, and the tricky parts that we might need to reconsider.

Launch and Ongoing Support

The launch is the beginning of the actual engagement with your constituency. There are some automated user and machine optimizations that I worry about. We strategise together about engaging and extending your constituency. You worry about communicating with your constituency and encouraging them to visit it. We review, evaluate and adapt.

Technical Services