FAQs: Design & Development Process

Do you have a formal process that all projects go though? What is my role in the project's development? Will I be able to make changes to my web site myself? What's the next step after I decide that Intersoft will develop my site? Who will be assigned to my project and what are their skills? How long does it take to develop my web site? Will I be required to provide content based on a schedule that you provide? What type of software do you use to develop my web site? Is your code compliant with open standards? What language do you program your sites in? What database engine do you use? What browsers do you test your sites in? Can you provide Flash on web sites? Can you provide audio and video on web sites? Are you able to create interactive CD-ROM's? Do you have a formal process that all projects go though? Yes. Our process has been adopted from the principles of software development & marketing production. We use a Project Management system that tracks each different phase of your project from conceptual design, coding & programming of the site, to presentation of the finished product. Each phase of the project has timelines and tasks defined. Back to Top What is my role in the project's development? We look at each client as a part of Intersoft's "Group", thus we strive to work as a team. However, it really depends on how involved you would like to be. Some clients are kept in the loop every step of the way, while others just want us to handle everything. Either way, we will deliver a superior web application right to your specifications. Back to Top Will I be able to make changes to my web site myself? Yes. All our sites are able to be modified by you using any HTML program like Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver, etc. However, on E-Commerce & updateable pages, we provide a back end interface for easy editing of desired content. Back to Top What's the next step after I decide that Intersoft will develop my site? You will receive an order & specification with the details of your project that also contains pricing and payment schedules. Once the specification & order are agreed upon and signed, your project is then sent to your Project Manager. At this time, your Project Manager will map out your deliverables, timelines and phases and will outline any content that you may need to provide to us. After we have received all needed content, your project is then scheduled in our work queue. Back to Top Who will be assigned to my project and what are their skills? It takes more than one skilled person to develop your web project. You first will be assigned a Project Coordinator that guides you through the entire process. Each phase of your site will be sent to a different expert possessing the skills required to complete that phase of your site. Your Project Manager will assign a team to your project as follows: A Project Coordinator. Your point of contact that will lead you through the entire process. They will be your main contact for questions, comments, etc. A Creative Designer. In charge of developing any creative aspects of your site. It could be a complete look & feel design or any part of the project that calls for design elements. HTML Coder. They will code your site using HTML, CSS & any JavaScripts that deem necessary. They are also in charge of any testing work that needs to be done on larger web projects. Programmer. They will program any parts of your project using the Microsoft .NET Framework in VB. Back to Top How long does it take to develop my web site? The time is takes to develop a web site depends on what type of site you have ordered. We usually recommend an 8-12 week development time on custom sites. Larger more complex custom sites with extensive programming can take 6 months or more for development. Smaller sites, with no or little programming, can be delivered in 4-6 weeks. However if you need a custom site delivered quicker we do offer a rush service for an additional fee. Our XsellIt Storefronts, which is our line of template eCommerce web sites, takes approximately 2-4 weeks to be delivered from the time we have your sites content. Back to Top Will I be required to provide content based on a schedule that you provide? Yes. In order to meet the required delivery schedule, we will need any content you are providing for the site by a certain date. If you happen to miss the scheduled date, the site's delivery date may need to be adjusted for the delayed time period. However, if you do happen to miss the scheduled date, you will not be charged for the development team's down time. We will simply reschedule your team to another project. After you have submitted the appropriate content needed, we will re-assign them back to your project as soon as they are available. Back to Top What type of software do you use to develop my web site? For the creative design, we use Adobe PhotoShop. For the development of your site, we use Macromedia Dreamweaver, Macromedia Flash and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. Back to Top Is your code compliant with open standards? Yes. We follow the W3C standards for HTML, CSS, etc. Be careful of those developers that depend on software to generate the code. They may not be W3C complaint. However, at Intersoft, all team members are trained to hand code sites, making sure that they are compliant with today's web standards. We also make sure that our sites are viewed properly in the majority of browser and operating systems. Sites that are compliant with these standards also have a greater chance of ranking higher in search engine placement. Back to Top What language do you program your sites in? Most of our sites are programmed using Microsoft .NET Framework in VB. However, our programmers have over 25 years of experience with the following languages: C++ C # Javascript VB VBScript Back to Top What database engine do you use? Most sites use Microsoft SQL. However we have worked with the following database engines as well: MS Access MySQL Oracle Back to Top What browsers do you test your sites in? We test your site on the most popular browsers such as: Internet Explorer 6+ Netscape Navigator 7+ FireFox Opera Mozilla The above browsers make up 99% of browsers used today. If you have a special need browser please let us know and we may be able to develop for it. Back to Top Can you provide Flash on web sites? Yes. We have Flash specialists that are able to provide you with whatever animation you would like. However, we highly recommend not creating an entire site in Flash if you wish to rank high in the Search Engines. Entire Flash sites cannot be spidered by the search engines, thus not ranking your site. We do suggest implementing Flash aspects into your site designed to allow Search Engines to crawl your site. Back to Top Can you provide audio and video on web sites? Yes. We have experts that are trained to provide high quality streaming audio and video. Back to Top Are you able to create interactive CD-ROM's? Yes. We have created interactive CD-ROM presentations that are great for demos and instructional projects. Back to Top