Are you a Web DAD?

There are 3 significant roles in creating a Web site/application

Web Designer – A Web designer is someone who sculpts the web according to a client's imagination. I've sat with clients and remember a few having those wacky imaginations of how their website should look like. It's the prime responsibility of the web designer to carry those imaginations from the client's mind to the monitor. Various photo editing tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw etc help designers chalk out a design. The outcome is called a template or a wireframe (layout) which ideally is a jpg image.

Web Developer – A Web developer's main responsibility is to churn out a HTML page out of the template the designer created. The developer's biggest challenge is to make sure the HTML page looks exactly like the wireframe or at least close. A developer also works on the CMS to set up the website, use JavaScript frameworks to make the site elegant, work on server programming languages to make the site interactive, work on storing data in databases etc. In short, the designer makes the site a show piece, the developer gives it life!

Web Administrator – A Web administrator is responsible to host the web site up on a server, perform the necessary name server mappings etc to display the web site using a URL. He is also responsible for documenting the performance, traffic etc.

IF YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO TAKES CARE OF THESE 3 ROLES, YOU ARE A WEB DAD! With the increasing need to "webize" businesses, many are looking up to firms for the faster solutions. Any web development firm would have teams for these 3 roles if the web project is big but at least 3 individuals to perform these 3 roles for a small project.

Advantages of hiring a Web DAD

The benefits are many ...

Effective handling of Change Requests – One area where clients find it difficult to understand is who to reach out for a particular change request. "I need the red button to display pink on mouse over" is sent to the designer and he sends it back saying it's the developer's job to add the mouse over. Taking this as an experience "Change the button color to blue" is sent to the developer and he sends it back saying it's the designer's job .. phew! With a Web DAD the requests are routed to one point of contact.

Project Management – There is literally no need for a project overseer to monitor the resources. In fact the client himself works as the project manager. The Web DAD also works as a single point of contact for the client and it's so easy to get the status straight from the horse's mouth!

No wastage of resources – The above mentioned 3 roles are supposed to be worked one after the other in a queue. The developer cannot work until the design is ready and the administrator cannot work until the developer completes his job. So while one of the roles is under progress, the other two are literally without any work (if there is only one project). I would call it a sheer waste of resources. With a Web DAD, each phase is done without wastage of resources by a single person.

Save Cost! – Above all, what gives the Web DAD a real edge is the cost of development. Resource cost is one third which would result in a hefty discount on the overall project cost.

You might wonder why I am complementing the concept of Web DAD so much. Well, because of the very fact that I myself am a Web DAD. I've got some great testimonials from clients appreciating this concept. They say it's very easy to handover their dreams to one person and stand to watch their dream take shape. Being a Web DAD is highly beneficial especially if you are a freelancer. You would be able to quote some great prices and live up to your promises while you still make your share worth.

Happy Parenting, DADs!

http://www.johnmanoah.com/blog/index.cfm/2009/10/22/Being-a-Web-DAD