Website functionality development is the process of making the website work and building the interactive features. It will include the actions that a front end user and website administrators are likely to perform. This will include, but is not limited to, the content management.
Providing the right functionality is essential to the success of a website. Hence it should be considered at the outset. At Red Fred Creative we work with our clients to pull together a functional specification so we will all have a clear understanding of the critical features. This will include a number of considerations.
Website goals
Define the main purpose of the website. What do you want visitors to the website to be able to do? Buy a product, search a directory, make a donation, register a warranty or just fill out a contact form? Correspondingly, features that support the primary purpose will be prioritised in the development process. Once the primary functions have been identified we will drill down further into what will make the features easy to use for both users and administrators of the website.
Consumer needs
Consider the target audience for the project. What are they looking for? What experience would you like them to have? Generally speaking it is helpful to keep things simple and retain conventions for placement of certain elements. For instance, the placement of a search facility in a prominent position is likely to be useful for a website it a large number of products or pages.
Resources
Website functionality development can also be defined around human resources. Functionality can be developed to help streamline processes and further reduce the impact on personnel. Evaluate the ability of the website administrators to undertake tasks. Understand the level of technical expertise and then use this to ensure the website can be managed effectively.
Budget
This is a decisive factor and subsequently one that shouldn’t be ignored. It makes sense to discuss budget restrictions as part of the planning process. A website with complex functionality is likely to require more budget that one with more simple features. That needn’t stop the development process though. Often the development can be rolled out in phases. A mandatory specification will generally form the basis for the development of phase one whilst additional functionality will be added in later phases.
A clear definition of the features enables the functional specification to be written up and agreed early on in the process. A detailed functional specification will avoid most issues further down the line. Obviously it is important to sign-off the functional specification before the development process begins.
Functionality is absolutely key to a successful website or app. Considering what will add value to your next project. Why not go out and explore other apps and websites and note what features appeal to you.
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