A few random thoughts about a web development company working on its own web site….
First and foremost – it’s hard.
Client work always comes first, we have hundreds of other related obligations, it has to be good, creative, effective – which makes it a little scary. At the end of the day we’ve spent all our juice working on our client’s sites, there’s not a lot left over for our own stuff.
A few things I’ve learned that either helped us or that I wish we had done.
- Create a small group responsible for working on the site. Set a regular (weekly or more frequent time) for the group to meet.
- Set roles and responsibilities within the group – minimally architect, designer, writer, programmer, project manager – it’s OK for a person to wear more than one hat. Keep a detailed task list tracking progress from week to week (as you would any project).
- Create a budget and deadline up front – the work will tend to sprawl to take all the time you allow it, a finite budget helps to keep us creative types focused.
- Vision – if someone has a vision or idea for a section and you don’t, go with it, explore it, let it flow. Don’t debate it unless you also have a clear vision.
- When you’re done, celebrate.
I’ve laughed a lot during this latest revision of ArcStone’s site. Being our own customer has made me really appreciate the great people I work with (and I’m not just saying this ’cause it’s a blog and all that). Viva la ArcStone!
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