As with everything else in the web design development spectrum, web development is an umbrella term covering a wide range of activities related to the construction of a web site for the world wide web or internet (that was a mouthful).
To simplify matters (and keep you from nodding off) we can consider web design to be the art of creating the look and feel of the site and web development covers all non-design tasks including: the writing of code, web software development, custom web development and a whole range of other coding and markup work including (but not limited to) AJAX, Javascript, PHP Development, Ruby On Rails, Dot Net, Gobbledygook etc.
Custom Web Development?
An honest web development firm will always look for the path of least resistance and it is highly likely what you need to can be achieved by leveraging an existing piece of web software. A common tactic by web design firms is to try and massage your requirements into a bigger job than needs be or towards a specific skill-set that the given company is skilled in. This is not always done in an underhanded way but is more a product of their lack of experience in a given area - as an example, most 'design' companies offer web design and can make a great looking site, but... they have little technical understanding so will work with what they know - the outcome of this approach is likely a substandard site at a vastly inflated price.
The Bowler Hat way is different to that of your average web development company: we will identify your requirements, determine if there is a software package or existing web software that will meet your needs and if not, only then will we look at the more expensive bespoke development path. We also work closely with an army of freelancers so will find a developer or put together a team that can work to your requirements without having to steer you towards what we can do well.
You still with me? I know this can be a bit dry (read: boring), but if you are serious about the web and don't want to pay over the odds then please, read on.
Web 2.0 Sites - Web 1.0 Prices
As an example, if you wanted to update or manage your own web site then wordpress or joomla software will likely cover all you need to do without any serious development work; if you were looking to run an online store there are a whole host of e-commerce solutions that you can take advantage of without having to reinvent the wheel. All of these solutions and many others can be made to look exactly as you want in the web design stage and are probably used to run many of the sites you frequent on a regular basis.
So, nine times out of ten, we can keep your costs down by using something that already does the job without costly programming work but if you are looking to build something new or have a unique requirement then this is where we need to do bespoke development, luckily for you, we also use the same ethos - 'follow the path of least resistance' and will create a functional specification and identify the most cost effective way to deliver on your requirements.
Get in Touch
Right, that was a long page and congratulations if you made it this far, you have hopefully learnt something and have likely saved yourself a considerable amount of money. We are here to answer any and all of your questions so please, get in touch and find out how to pay less and get more.
