TL;DR

My friends and I created a website for a small business. Here are some things I learn:

• Looking into the company’s current tool
• Leverage the web editor’s template
• Goals can change

I have recently had a chance to work with a small company to develop a website for them. With a team of 3 people, our goal was to ship the website as soon as possible (during 1 month) under the budget of $200.

This is our first time to do something like this. Therefore, drawbacks happenned. If we were to start again from the beginning, here are what we should have done.

Looking into the company’s current tool: Instead of spending time picking a better web editor, we should have utilized the company’s current tool, in this case, Wix. In the beginning, we spent too much time comparing what advantages other editors had. However, in the end, we chose Wix, because after taking a look at the company’s billing history, we noticed they had already purchased a 2-year plan. Plus, it would be easier to use Wix in the beginning, since they had their domain set up on Wix so we would not have to deal with transferring domain later.

Leverage the web editor’s template: We should have taken a look at the editor’s pre-designed templates before designing our own. Templates is a fast way to make a website good-looking. After that, all we need to do is fill in the images, words, and contents written by the company.

Goals can change: Initially, we set deadlines. But we had to have the flexibility to change goals. Sometimes things will not work out right. For instance, client’s slow response, the mistakes we make along the way. The flexibility will give you ability not to judge yourself, and also the efficiency to move forward.

In the end, with lots of learning, we got the $200 check and would give ourselves a happy dinner.