Recently Pemaquid Communications launched a redesigned Web site for Eastern Book Company, a firm in Westbrook, Maine that offers book acquisition services to libraries worldwide.
The launch was successful, and the site has been well received by both EBC and its customers. But the project was not without its share of bumps and bruises. Here are some things we learned along the way.
Never underestimate the time it will take to learn new technology.
EBC uses Ingres as its main product and ordering database. Like mySQL, Ingres is Open Source, but it’s far less common. It also uses a slightly different syntax than the more familiar mySQL. This was Pemaquid’s first Ingres project.
Having worked with SQL Server and even a dash of Oracle, I figured it wouldn’t be too long before I had Ingres doing my bidding. I thought wrong, sports fans. As I should have known, when working with new technology, plug a substantial fear factor into your plans.
If at all possible, have one designer “own” the entire Design Concept
I charged one designer with creating the concept for the EBC site, based on site navigation and wire frames I developed. I have to say it came off beautifully (many thanks to Jamie Peloquin). Then (mainly due to delays in development) I relied on a couple other hired guns to add some icons and graphics to rounds things out, and I added my own touches in a few spots. The results were a little underwhelming.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing tragically hideous about the site. It’s just that every designer plays their own brand of rock and roll, and that affects the overall cohesiveness of the look and feel. That’s true of the EBC site, and there were times when we could have paid a little more attention to details (we’ll be sprucing things up a bit over time).
If possible, make sure you don’t switch horses midstream when it comes to the design.
DIY can get you DOA
I’ve always been a Do-It-Yourself kind of guy. Probably because I can’t wait for someone else to do the job, and because my Inner Control Freak usually holds sway.
In the case of EBC, I figured, what’s a little Ingres database? It’s gotta be just like mySQL, right? Um, not quite right. Wrestling with the Ingres database and the particular dialect of SQL that it speaks led to delays. I should have brought in Jeff Norris, my database gun, much earlier in the game.
Know what you know, know what you don’t know, and trust that your Web slinger friends will help you get the job done right.
