Web development for businesses: from needs to a website that works

Website, online store or web app?

Start with the most important thing the user needs to do. A website may be the right choice when the customer needs information and then gets in touch. An online store must also handle the purchase and the follow-up around the order. A web app becomes relevant when the user will be working with data, processes or personal information over time.

The boundaries can overlap. A company website can include booking, and an online store can have a customer portal. So ask what needs to work at the first launch. Extra features should be justified by a specific need and a person who will use them.

Describe three tasks the site must solve

Choose three important tasks and write them as short situations. For a service business, they might be: a new customer needs to find out whether you cover the area, a buyer needs to understand what a service agreement includes, and an existing customer needs to ask for help.

Review your current solution using these tasks. Note where information is missing, where the customer has to search, and where employees have to do duplicate work. This is a better basis for web design and development than a list of websites you think look nice.

Also describe a successful end point. “The form works” is unclear. “A customer can send an enquiry on mobile, receives confirmation, and the enquiry appears with the correct person responsible” can be demonstrated. This is how you connect the visual work to an actual delivery.

Write a requirements specification you can use

Split the requirements into must-have at launch, should-have and can-wait. Each requirement should have an owner and a simple way to approve it. Ask the supplier to explain assumptions, dependencies and what falls outside the proposal.

The table shows suggested requirements. Adapt the details to the business, especially roles, integrations and what you need to be able to change yourselves.

Assign the content an owner before the design is finished

A new solution needs text, images and clarified information about the services. Assign responsibility for each page. Decide who can confirm prices, delivery areas, product descriptions and any customer references. Content that is “on the way” should have an agreed delivery date.

Use an actual service page in the design process. It shows whether headlines, explanations, images and call-to-action buttons work together. A polished draft with short sample text can hide problems that only appear when the real description needs to go in.

For an online store, product data needs the same attention. Decide where names, variants, stock status and images come from, and who corrects errors. A new design does not solve unclear product data or unclear responsibilities.

Agree on quality in use, not just a score

Ask for testing of the most important user tasks on mobile and with a keyboard. Include clear field labels, readable text and understandable error messages. W3C recommends that accessibility be part of the production process and be assessed early and regularly. So make this part of the work from the start.

Performance should also be assessed using real content. Google’s Core Web Vitals describe the loading of main content, responsiveness to actions and visual stability. Use measurements to find problems, and combine them with practical task testing. A fast homepage is of little help if the contact form is difficult to use.

Ask for the test basis to be described: which pages, devices and situations were checked, which errors have been fixed, and what, if anything, remains.

Plan the launch and ownership before the final week

When replacing an existing website, important URLs must be mapped. If the addresses change, Google recommends a plan that links old pages to relevant new pages and redirects traffic. Include this in the scope, together with checks of internal links and important forms.

Agree who owns the domain, the publishing platform and the necessary accounts. The company should know who monitors operations, takes backups where relevant, handles errors and carries out updates. Also describe how you order minor changes after launch.

Set a separate time for handover. The person who will edit the site should try the tasks themselves. Only when content, contact flow, measurement and responsibilities work together do you have a solid basis for using the website in marketing.