How to make your Web Development project a success. What you should do? And here is a mistake. You'd better ask What you shouldn't do. I've prepared a pile of articles covering top 10 mistakes when it comes to starting a website development project. Why repeat someone's mistakes when it is much easier to leave them aside. Do not waste your time and money on solving that deadly mistakes.

1. TOP 10 Reasons Why Web Projects Fail
We hope that this 10 point summary will help you better understand the specifics of the web business and
prepare you for the way ahead. These 10 point are accumulated over the 10+ years plus experience at
Intelex Corporation. Some of them might not apply to your particular case.
Ok, let’s get started and see if you are about to make them? .
1. No clear vision of the website and its purpose
How to fail
Approximately 20-30% of the client do not have a clear vision of the web project they are about to embark
on. Here are some of the most common mistakes website owners make:
Have not studied what is out there already.
Have not studied the competition.
Do not even have the structure of the website that they want to build.
Mostly preoccupied with the colors and the look of the site rather than the structure and the
functionality.
General misconception is to add more functionality and see what happens. Clients start building
websites with all sorts of features: blogs, forums, chat rooms etc. but have no means of keeping
them live and active.
How to succeed
Study your competition
If there is no competition, ask yourself why?
Envision your site from the visual and functionality standpoint (create the site map).
When ordering functionality like blogs and forums, think if you have enough time, dedication
and visitors on the site to support the activity.

2. 2. No business model
How to fail
The best way to fail is to build a project and then start thinking how to make money from it. Going back to
the first question: when planning a project you have to make sure you have a business model. It does not
mean it may not change, but at least you have an initial plan. It is better to have a plan and change it than
have no plan at all.
Case study
The best example would be a guy who ordered an e-commerce website to sell CDs online. We built the
store, uploaded 10,000 plus CDs… waited for two months and nothing… no sales. He asked us to analyze
why there are no sales. We did the analysis and discovered that he was selling CDs for 17.95 when the
exact same CD on other sites was selling for $14.95. I asked the guy, why he is selling so high. The answer
was: “I cannot sell for less because I am buying them from a wholesaler at $15.95”. In the case of a generic
product like a CD there is no way this project will survive.
How to succeed
Before doing anything else think how you will make money on this project (may not apply to
charities, NGO etc.). It does not have to be a single income stream; it can be 3-4 or even more.
When you build the project and start working on it everything can change, including the business
model, but if there is no initial plan, it is hard to achieve the goal that does not exist.

3. 3. My site will be perfect
How to fail
This is my favorite one. I would say close to 40% of the customers are making this mistake.
Right from the beginning they want to build a “perfect site”:
It usually starts with 30-40 logo concepts, 6-8 rounds of revisions and 2 months for choosing the
“perfect logo”
Then we start with a “perfect site”: 5-6 concepts, 5-6 or even more revisions, choosing the
“perfect shades”, “perfect bullets for the text” , moving the images 1 pixel to the right and 3
pixels up to make it “Perfect” and so on…
This is just 5% of the total list of similar tasks that take a lot of time and efforts and have NO EFFECT on the
success of the web project.
How to succeed
All the successful clients are able to choose the logo from the first batch of 10, than get it finalized
in 1 or 2 rounds of revisions. The same story with the website – select from the first batch, make
some minor corrections and move on to the development stage. I am not saying it to simplify our
life and make everyone accept the first design. I am just expressing my observations based on the
comparison of successful and not so successful projects.
It is better to start faster with minor design imperfections and then improve it on the go, then
struggle with the pixels and shades for 2 months exhausting yourself, designers and developers.

4. 4. I want to build a site “like no others”
How to fail
The best way to fail is to try to build a website “Like no others”. The first question would be: “have you
seen such a site”, most of the time the answer is “No”. Ok, let me show you some weird sites, do you like
them? , “no, because I do not like the colors, I do not know how to navigate etc.” If you do not like the
weird sites, why do you assume that other people will like yours?
Case study
A client (not in our portfolio) in the business of selling door locks online needed an e-commerce
site. Once the design was almost finalized and accepted he requested us to build a site intro. The
intro was supposed to display a 3D graphics of different objects flying in the greenish light like in
the movies about submarines. Imagine yourself looking to buy a door lock and ending up on the
website with the submarine intro…. will this intro make you buy the lock there or leave the site?
How to succeed
By no means am I advocating building boring website all alike. The site has to look nice,
professional and most importantly IN LINE WITH YOUR BUSINESS. The visitor has to know right
away what this site is all about. If it takes him even 2-3 second to figure out the purpose of the
website, it is TOO LONG. There are tons of other websites just a click away.

5. 5. I need it FAST and CHEAP for now and once I make money I
will build a good one
How to fail
This kind of approach has 100% failure rate. If the client approaches the business this way, HE (so far I did
not have a single request like this from a woman) would be better off spending the money on beer and
saving the disappointment. This model never works. You have to do it right and with the full force and
effort. Then, and only then you have a chance to succeed. If you “just want to give it a try” I can assure you,
you will fail.
How to succeed
Get yourself organized
Concentrate on this SINGLE project
Give it 100% effort
Dedicate all the resources you have to this project
Do not think about escape routes
Do not think what will happen if you fail
Be bold, persistent and confident

6. 6. If I build it they will come
How to fail
This is probably the most common mistake of all. People assume that building the site completes the
project. This may not apply to the 5-page presentation site built like an online business card. But we are
talking about web projects that have to generate income. The rule of thumb is “If you build it, they WILL
NOT come” I should add “by themselves”. Even if you wait for a year, nothing will change. The most
common excuse in this case is: ”I spent all the money for building the website and do not have any left for
the marketing”. These projects sit idle for years and nothing happens.
How to succeed
Think about marketing and promotion before even starting the project.
Set aside a certain amount of money for the marketing purposes. In most of the cases
the amount should be comparable to the amount you spent on building the web
project. In some cases it could be more.
Be prepared to sustain the marketing efforts for at least 3 months without income .
Consult a marketing professional
Take part in marketing and promotion personally

7. 7. Can you create the content for me
How to fail
At first glance it seems like there’s nothing wrong with this request. You want to build the website, you are
not a writer or a journalist and you would like to ask someone to create the content for you. Why this is
wrong, let me explain. Let us take scenario number one: you are working in your business for a number of
years and have a ton of knowledge and experience about your business. In this case how is this possible
that you cannot write a few pages about what you do? Can you imagine a person who has no knowledge of
your business describing what you do better then you? Ok, let us look at the scenario number two: you are
just starting up and do not have enough experience and knowledge. In this case do you think that you are
ready to start the business and run it successfully if you cannot describe what you do? Or is it better to go
study it a bit in depth and then be better prepared for the real world.
How to succeed
Maybe I have been too harsh in the previous paragraph. Let me explain myself. I am not against
content writers per say. I am for them however the site owner has to determine the site frame,
structure and the main message and the copywriter can help with the grammar and the style.
When it comes to content writing for SEO you pretty much do not have a choice, you have to get a
SEO copywriter. So to summarize: do not be lazy; try to be a part of your website project especially
from the beginning.
P.S. Having said that, I have to admit that sometimes, in some cases I wish the clients would have
left the writing to us 

8. 8. No budget after site launch
How to fail
This point resonates with the mistake number 6. In my experience this applies to more than 50% of the
websites. For some unexplained reasons website owners are very passionate about building the website,
however after it is completed they lose passion and enthusiasm and just leave the site there. No budget for
the site promotion, no budget for the site maintenance, no budget for the expansion.
How to succeed
In order to succeed you have to make sure you have enough passion to sustain your website after
launch. Once it is launched you should have enough resources to market and promote it. You have
to analyze the performance of the website, make changes and if necessary be ready to start from
scratch. Running out of money is one of the most common reasons for the failure of start-ups.

9. 9. When the site is built the project is completed
How to fail
In most cases there is a strong belief that all you have to do is just build a site. Created once, website can
serve your business needs for years. Customers often think that there is no need to update anything
because their business remains the same, nothing changes. Updating is an additional cost and time spent.
But how long is your website going to live with such approach? Not much. Internet is developing very
rapidly and needs constant changes and improvements. You should at least try to go with the flow and
keep up with the changing environment.
How to succeed
By no means am I persuading you to spent hours thinking what can be added to your website. Do
not think that adding some odd and unimportant facts would be suitable. Updating your website
does not necessarily have to be daily, however it has to be regular, at least once every few
months. Try to update content when your business experiences certain changes. Your clients have
the right to know about it. You know, your clients can get bored with your site. It would be a good
idea to add nice images to make your site look slightly different.
All in all, do not be lazy to update your website, and remember: if you are not interested in your
website anymore, so aren’t your clients.

10. 10. Bad personal taste and judgment
Owner’s personal taste is one of the most delicate aspects of web design that we intentionally left
to be the last but definitely not the least. All the website owners want the best for their websites
and their online businesses. They are using all their passion, creativity, experience to help the
designers build the best website possible. They are sincere in their aspiration but sometimes in the
effort to do something extraordinary or extravagant they tend to go overboard or a bit of
sideways.
Since you are the customer you are able to make web designers do whatever you wish because
they are getting paid for it. However, a good web designer will always tell you if you request
something that is not appropriate for the project. Not all, but most of us will tell you that you are
not right. The virtue is to have the strength to revisit your vision or your taste and look at it from a
neutral position.
How to fail
The best way to fail in this case is not to listen to anyone (designers, friends, etc.) and do what you think is
“cool”, or “nice”, or “good”. It is YOUR site and you can do whatever you want because YOU pay for this.
Who cares what others think about it, as long as you like it, everyone should like it too.
How to succeed
In order to succeed you have to remember that the site is built NOT for you but for your potential
clients. The success of the website depends on the fact that the CLIENTS like it. In order to assure
this it is prudent to listen to professional designers because they have built way more sites than
you. It also pays to listen to your friends, relatives etc. Most of the time, not always, but MOST of
the time collective wisdom will be a better measure than a single individual’s.
Having said that, I have to admit that there are exceptions to this rule, and there are individuals
who can foresee what others can’t.

11. I sincerely hope that these 10 points will help you in your web design and development quest. If
you have any questions, would like to express your option or comment on the topic, please feel
free to contact us.
Intelex Corp.
www.intelex.ca
4195 Dundas St. West, Suite 306
Toronto, ON M8X 1Y4
Tel.: (416) 239-2022
Email: info@intelex.ca
If you made a decision to order a website for your business, do it right now. There is no need to
postpone. Just contact us for more information.