Websites - The BSA Way

Is a website a work of art or a business tool?

This is a question that, in my opinion, needs to be asked more frequently in web development projects.

While, in reality, there should be elements of both, invariably the focus on the artwork trumps the business tool aspect.

In the world of website development, there is much talk of Design and User Experience testing, but this all focuses on the customer aspect of the project.

This is critical in delivering long-term success, but it is only half of the equation.

The fact is that a website needs to be an effective tool for the company running it too, and they need to be able to make changes to the site and add content as required, to deliver their business objectives. It is for this reason, that when BSA undertakes a web project we consider this in two areas:

When building the site

When building the site consideration needs to be given to how the content will be used and managed going forward rather than simply delivering a nice looking customer facing site. Whether building the site ourselves, or working with a client’s developer, we will make sure that this aspect is given the focus it deserves.

There are many ways to store the content in a Content Management System, some more user-friendly for the site manager than others. Getting it right in the admin system of the site should not have any impact on the design or usability from a customer perspective, but can make or break its long-term operation.

We know what makes a site easy to manage and make sure this functionality is built in.

This approach also means that, as the people responsible for support, we understand how the site has been put together making it easier for us to cost-effectively deliver clients requirements going forward.

When managing and running the site

So you have built and launched the site. Now you need to manage it.

The one thing you don’t want is to have to go back to your dedveloper every time you want to change a picture or some text, If the site is well built using a CMS like WordPress, and consideration has been given to the content management when the site was developed, you should be able to handle much of the content management in-house. But however good your site is their will come a time when you will want to do something that is not possible using the standard back-end admin system.

At this point you need help. Because we work closely with developers, we understand clients sites, and have the technical knowledge to make most changes ourselves keeping costs down and ensuring changes don’t take forever to implement. We also understand your business objectives, so can work with you to make sure your site continues to delivers in the long-term.

So to go back to the original question: “Is a website a work of art or a business tool?”  If managed correctly, the answer can be “Both”. ”

Websites the BSA way makes sure that this happens