Web Strategy - What it is and Why we need to care
The web has the potential to be the single most pervasive and transformative development in the history of business. But only if we learn enough about that organization to see how it can be applied. As web professionals, you should know that when someone comes to you and say they want to hire a web designer, what they really mean is that they need a web solution, which is way more than making a "design". Yes, they're probably have no idea what they're asking for and they have no clue that when they say they need a web design, they've got to have a lot of specific jobs to be done. By them asking you for the solution, you must be the expert, and be one! You have to get the idea across - communicate, educate and illuminate them so that they'll understand all the tasks you're performing or you're having performed by someone else on that project to deliver them that great web solution. Know that an educated, engaged client is always a better client and a good benefit to you. Web strategy is about using knowledge of your client's business and your fresh perspective to find opportunities that transform your client's business. It is selecting the right technologies to solve problems and create opportunities by applying them with great design. It is not content strategy and it is broader than that. It is a about leadership and the growth of our industry. It's about seeing the whole picture within your clients organization and within your own group so that you can help them see new possibilities through your lens of design and technology. We're not just designers or developers, we are also consultants. We must understand the client's business and see the things they can't. Use your knowledge of design and intimacy with technology to truly transform the business and don't forget that clients are also users. We also have to look at new ideas in business education and management design and strive for inspiration and innovation that comes from looking outside of what we already knew.
Why we should care At the end of the day, when you come back to the clients, and they are happy, you're gonna get recommendations and more work. You're even more open to doing great work for the success of each of your project. The progression in your field leads to greater acceptance/integration of web design and technology throughout the client's/employer's business which tantamounts to more opportunities.
Digital Organics: Web Design Sunshine Coast - 1/102 Howard Street, Nambour, QLD 4560 T 617 5476 3800, SEO Sunshine Coast
How we get there? Education is the key in every level, whether it is structured or self-directed learning. Who could do it? Anyone can do it but not necessarily for beginners other than in concept. It takes a few years and enough experience with enough actual clients to see how interactions really work. Integrating web strategies is ideal for those who have been working in the field for a number of years. It's more suited to designers/design thinkers with aptitude for technology and business rather than the other way around. Designers with a penchant for technology tend to have more success with this kind of role than people who start off with technical background and start learning design. There are exceptions to that but still creativity is a lot harder to teach than technology. Communication - if we can't get our ideas across, they don't exist. Think like a designer. Try to look at business education programs and read books covering on that area. Talk to clients in a language they understand. Innovation in business and design thinking are tremendously relevant to what we do in the best web projects. Examine/understand how business works: open your eyes and look across enterprise to see points of intersection - that's where the opportunities are to use web technologies to create the greatest, most innovative solutions. To wrap it up, define, embrace and espouse the role of web strategist which in turn leads to needing classes to help develop those who seek to fill those roles. Later on, this creates a culture that recognizes value of strategy and design in making most out of web technology on any dehoweverice/platform in them most useful, usable ways, both within companies and with the agencies they hire.
Digital Organics: Web Design Sunshine Coast - 1/102 Howard Street, Nambour, QLD 4560 T 617 5476 3800, SEO Sunshine Coast