Website Development – Not the Realm of IT, nor Design

Many companies assign their website development to the IT department. Others find a graphic designer who can also build websites. But is this the best way to handle the corporate website?

How the Internet Evolved

In the beginning, the internet was all about computer technology. The internet was developed in the early 1960s in university computer research departments as a means to communicate with one another, to share data with computers around the world. For several decades, the internet stayed in the realm of computer departments. It was too complicated for others to use.

However, text communication gave way to HTML coding, which brought color and other means of enhancing the appearance of an online page. Yet, it was still all about the coding, and design was rudimentary. At that time, only those with knowledge of HTML coding could build a website.

Then tools for designing web pages with minimal knowledge of HTML began to emerge. This opened website development to graphic designers, and websites began to look better and better. The internet also became more popular and almost all businesses began building websites as a tool for communication. Many graphic designers learned to use the new software, and built lovely websites.

Now, internet technology and the tools to implement them have became more sophisticated – and easier to use. Today, it is imperative that companies use the internet for a broad range of communication — public relations, customer relations, advertising, and more. In fact, the web is overtaking traditional means of marketing. Just the other day, the Financial Times reported that by 2011, businesses will spend more on web advertising than on newspaper advertising.

In this context, it is no longer enough to assign the development and maintenance of your website to just an IT professional or a graphic designer.

Today’s Wired Environment

In today’s business environment, where the internet challenges companies to invite ongoing dialogue with their customers, corporate websites must be developed through the marketing / communications department. A company’s business and communications goals define the appearance (branding) and the functions of the site – including e-commerce, blogs, forums, etc. – as well as ongoing maintenance, updates, and interaction with customers.

Neither the IT department, nor the graphic designers, can alone cover the full spectrum of needs for a company’s website. Instead, it is the marketing department who must gather a team, a team that includes IT professionals skilled in the necessary programming tools, as well as designers. And even the designers need a new skill set – interactive design. They need to prepare a design that is not only visually appealing, but invites a user to delve deeper into the site, to learn more, to buy something, or to otherwise engage with the company.

Today’s corporate websites are a primary tool for communication, and therefore development must be headed up by the department responsible for that – the marketing department.