So, you have an idea for the next killer Web 2.0 app. That's great, but where do you go from here? Learn how we attack product development and how you can follow a simple and fool-proof system.
The idea for Voices.com emerged 5 years ago when we were a recording studio operating in downtown London. Although work was keeping us busy, we wanted more. We wanted to serve many more customers, reaching out to a global audience. At the same time, we recognized that there are many other recording studios, production houses and freelance voice over talents that could make use of a single destination to promote their services directly to clients in need of voice-overs.
The vision: An online marketplace where anyone with a professional studio, vocal training and experience could create a profile, upload sample MP3 recordings of their voice and audition for voice-over jobs. In turn, the clients could use our search engine to find voice talents by keyword or post jobs requesting that voice talents reply with an cost estimate for the projects.
OK, that's our story, but how did we actually go about taking the idea from the concept stage to an operating business? Here's the answer, in the form of a plan that you can use to start your own Web 2.0 company.
1.The Opportunity
To start you'll need to do some initial planning. Jot down the problem that you are going to solve. This will help you stay focused on your solution.
2. The Solution
Now, brainstorm all the ways you can solve the specific problem or obstacle. There may be more than one solution, and certain solutions may be easier to build than others. Write them all down and elaborate on the steps involved, including first time visitors discovering your company, trying out your web application, and making a purchase.
3. Your Customers
Picture the customers you are going to serve. Even go as far as creating a character sketch. This will help you understand your customers and why they will use your web application. Think of this as your market research. For example, Sally is the creative director at a national advertising agency. She's busy, works on 5 projects at any given time and appreciates quality when she finds it. Her activities are governed by simplicity and likes when things "just work".
4. Understand The Revenue Model
Too many companies start without a clear picture of how they'll make money. Boot-strapping is OK, and is even recommended. With limited financial resources, you'll be forced to make good decisions. Once revenues start coming in the door, you will have developed a sense of discipline in your business spending habits that will ensure future profitability. Common models include; advertising supported, subscription based, pay-per-use and by donation. We'll discuss each of these models in more detail in a future post.
5. Create the User Experience
Before 37Signals came out with their eBook "Getting Real" which I would recommend to any web developer, we had been applying many of the same strategies such as starting with the UI ( User Interface ) and then developing the code to make everything "work". Personally, I'm not a programmer, but I'd like to believe I have an eye for design and can think logically, so creating the UI first was easy to do. With Voices.com, I mapped out the header, the tabs and gave the tabs names. Each tab name represented a different part of the web service. Within each section you could have more options. For example, our "Account & Settings" section includes sub-sections on "Preferences", "Account Details", "Statistics" and "Upgrade Account". By knowing the customer, understanding the specific problem we were going to solve for them, then seeing a sketch on paper, our idea came to life faster than you can say Web 2.0.
6. Develop a Working Model
Create HTML versions of your screens. From there, you can program the back-end to execute the dynamic functions like submitting online forms, uploading files and displaying information pulled from your database.
7. Test, test, test
Once you launch, there's no turning back and first impressions mean everything. With that in mind, you'll want to test your web application on every machine, operating system, browser and Internet connection possible.
8. Provide Outstanding Customer Service & Support
Prepare for a number of questions before you launch. By developing a FAQ ( frequently asked questions ) page you can eliminate answering the same questions over and over. Plus, FAQs can be used to help explain how everything works.
9. Launch Your Web 2.0 Application
Write a press release ( or hire a PR firm ) to craft an announcement introducing your new Web 2.0 application. Email everyone you know to come check it out and ask them the pass along the message to their colleagues. On the day of your official launch, you may be in public beta mode, so people will understand if everything isn't working correctly. The key though, is to answer peoples' questions and listen to their feedback. With many visitors using the application for the first time, they will have a fresh perspective and will think of things you haven't yet considered.
10. Enjoy The Journey
Find something you're passionate about and dedicate your time and resources to making it the best in the industry. The evidence of your hard work will be present in your attention to detail, the visual representation and general user experience. After you've launched, you'll be reflect back on the good times when you were doing the initial development, so enjoy it while it lasts.
This was the story of how we built Voices.com, but it can also be how you build your Web 2.0 application.
Post a comment about your development method.
All the best,
David
Technorati Tags: web 2.0, Web Applications, Web-Apps, web design, Design
