A website project needs structure, objectives and will.

Without this new website can end up damaging the brand, turnover and waste money.

First steps, first mistakes

The Yorkshire and Humberside Tourist Board needed a complete overhaul, and so the plan to rebrand as Welcome to Yorkshire came about. One objective was to have the best digital profile of any UK tourism body. But it was also recognised the existing team needed help because they had never delivered such a project before. That understanding of resource is often where the first error is made in a web build exercise. Welcome to Yorkshire appointed David Ranby to project manage the delivery of a totally new Yorkshire.com. The 3 objectives were;

• Launch on a specific day, at a given time
• Deliver on budget
• Win a national award for website excellence

All 3 objectives achieved. A number of years later, the website remains at the forefront of travel information websites in the UK.

Managing the delivery…

The creation of comprehensive project structure is key to success because only at the start can the full scope be set. A good structure also highlights the dependencies between all the elements of the project. For example, delivering content rewrites, or planning new imagery are typical elements that don’t get actioned (usually by the client) until the last minute. Simple issues such as team members holidays need to be factored so that critical elements like testing deadlines are met. Ensuring all people involved in the project know what is going on, by whom, is why an open project plan platform is needed. Planning tools can be as complex as Breeze or Trello, or just sharing a Google Sheet!