Estako Mobile

Technology

Technology and websites

Many people associate websites simply with positioned pieces of text combined with appropriate graphics and colour. But can we call Google.com a mere website? No – Google is an online search engine comprising a powerful server network supervised by a panel of experts. Is Youtube only a website? Or is it a database for multimedia files, created by millions of people from around the globe and exposed via a http protocol?

The World Wide Web has long ago ceased to be a medium limited to providing information. Using the Internet we can take care of our taxes, buy a TV, transfer money, or even phone the other side of the planet for a local charge.

Nowadays people expect an Internet-based agency to provide them with a lot more than just an online business card. We do everything in our power to create websites that not only bring profit but also make life easier. For instance, when designing a site for a hotel we equip it with an online control panel for booking and transactions. Thanks to such a solution, the client saves on licensed hotel-administration software, and the database can be worked on by many users simultaneously from different parts of the world!

Production technology

Most agencies employ single people for numerous tasks, such as both programming and graphics. A solution of this kind is very comfortable, as one person is responsible for a whole project. One can easily establish the price and deadline, and wait until the product is delivered ready. There is, though, a number of problems connected with this approach:

The executor cannot be flawless in multiple fields at once! It is virtually impossible.
People tend to put off everything until the last moment. An employee might therefore do nothing for the first three weeks and spends the fourth one sleepless, hoping just to make the project work somehow.
When working on a graphic project, the executor might neglect many relevant details and dedicate less work to transforming graphics into xHTML.
Having incomplete knowledge in the field of particular programming languages, the employee spends more time on doing everything. Thus, his pay / hours spent working ratio is poor.

In our company, every single employee has their task and sticks to it. Moreover, each project has its co-ordinator, who keeps track of progress and watches out for possible problems. The standard procedure of putting a website into practice goes as follows:

The co-ordinator initiates the project, collects all possible related information, and draws up the specification for the graphics designer.
The graphics designer receives the project's specification and delivers the graphic design to the co-ordinator within a deadline.
The co-ordinator sends the project to the client, the SEO specialist, and the sociologist.
After corrections made by the client, SEO specialist, and sociologist, the co-ordinator delivers the project to the xHTML programmer.
The xHTML programmer transforms the graphics file into code and returns it to the co-ordinator.
The co-ordinator delivers the project (in *.html form) to the client, in order to check whether everything is in accordance with the client's wishes.
The file is sent to the php programmer, who equips the website with a content-administration system, and then he uploads it to the server.
The co-ordinator is provided with a finished system, tests each section, and finally delivers it to the client along with a user's manual.

How do we benefit from using such a system?

Each of our employees specializes in a strict field, and can therefore excel in what they do.
The system ensures redundancy. Should an xHTML programmer fall ill, they are easily replaced with another one, who doesn't need to learn about everything from the start.
Each step of a project is supervised by a co-ordinator, so that matters are dealt with as they come.
Owing to the fact that particular employees keep doing similar tasks all the time, they are much faster than someone who does similar tasks only occasionally. This means not only time-saving, but a significantly higher per-hour rate as well! As a result, our employees provide the highest-class service while also making several times more money than a multi-task employee in another agency.

The only multi-task person in our company is the co-ordinator, being a graphics designer, programmer, and PR specialist simultaneously. This allows him to assess the particular stages of a project from a technical point of view, while also keeping in touch with the client.