Requirements analysis – .com – Wingdings Translator Online

In this tutorial we will see what a web requirements analysis consists of, what it is for, who should do it, and what points it should contain (at least).

Analisys of requirements

The website requirements analysis It is a document in which all the requirements that the web project must meet must be detailed.

It is important that this list is as complete and exhaustive as possible, to avoid ambiguities and potential future problems, and to ensure peace of mind for both the developer and the client:

Developer fear: That the client go demanding new things within the already agreed budget, because “it was understood that it was included”.
Customer fear: than the developer copper for every detail that he already understood as included in the project.

As you can see, after all it is the same, seen from two points of view, and the solution goes through the same path: Requirements analysis.

Who should do the analysis?

Although it is a joint work, the initial analysis must present it the client. He is the one who knows what he wants, what he has in mind, and what he needs.

A requirements analysis is not telling the developer “I need a page like this“, and pass it a link.

Be careful, that can be a certain help, I’m not saying no! But it is like showing the photo of the facade of a house and saying that you want one just like it. With only that it is impossible to know “what is inside”. The developer could spend hours, even days, analyzing that website, and even so, he could leave many things behind, which the client could later demand.

In addition, there are many sections of certain websites that are only accessible by purchase, subscription or payment. Doing such an analysis is extremely time consuming and the risks of missing things are too high. Unless the client wants to pay for that report, we shouldn’t be relying on that.

On the other hand, it is much easier for the client to make a “list” of what he wants. Obviously it will not be a “technical” list, since it may be that at a technological level you do not know what to ask for, but you should know “what you want”.

Then, once this first list is delivered, the developer’s job is to “translate” all this and complete it with his knowledge and experience.

For example, the client can say “Let there be a payment zone”, and the developer will ask him “What forms of payment? Card, PayPal, bank POS? Single or recurring payments? How often?”

What should we put in the analysis?

Absolutely everything. From the content to the technology used, going through the compatibilities of browsers, mobile devices or even design.

Let’s take a look at what should always be in those analyses. I put it in a list format, in case you want to make your own guide for future projects:

Typology: Pages, entries, products, testimonials, videos, images… Everything that must be incorporated.
Structure: A hierarchical structure of the content must be presented, indicating all sections and subsections. Normally this is reflected in the main navigation menu. Making this diagram is very important because it allows us to quickly get an idea of the dimensions of the project. Tools like can help us do it quickly. You can see more similar ones in the .
Quantity: A list must be detailed with each of the pages and what they must contain. It is not the same to make a corporate page of 10 pages than one of 100. It is not the same to make a single “who we are” page with the name and photos of all the workers, than a page for each of them, with their biographies.
Format: How is the content? Already digitized? Is it in catalogs and must be chopped all over again? In the case that it must be scanned or digitized, we must take into account if the client, the developer, or if an external person should be hired.
Languages: Is the website going to be made in several languages or in just one? That is essential decide at first, as it may imply a total change in price and choice of software. I recommend you take a look at the and the tutorial to give you an idea of the differences.

functionalities

Forms: Should we have forms? What type? We can work with contact forms, for purchasing products, for sending information, for publishing articles or products, etc. All this with certain plugins like Gravity Forms, but other things will require custom development.
eCommerce: If it is an eCommerce, we must define who will upload the product information. It is one thing to make the web and quite another to manage it. If 3,000 products must be uploaded, who will do it? Is that process automatic, or does it have to be done manually, one by one?
payment gateways: Whether it is an eCommerce or a membership site, or any other website with payment functionality, each and every one of the possible forms of payment that must be accepted must be defined.
Shipping forms: In the case of an eCommerce, all forms of shipping, freight prices and variables that may affect the calculation must be defined (weight, dimensions, geographical areas…).
Internal search engine: A functionality that is sometimes overlooked, because it is not a “section” as such, is the search engine. Should we put one? What kind of results should it show? Should it dump everything we have on the web or ?

Technology

CMS: In the vast majority of cases you are going to develop the project in a CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Prestahsop, Magento…) but there is also the option of making a custom website, without any of them. Whatever the case, it must be detailed what decision has been made, and what software will be used.
Themes: In some cases the client will want a custom theme from scratch, in other cases a template that will only have to be purchased and adapted. This completely changes the price. I recommend you read the tutorial.
Browsers: In which browsers the web should be viewed and from which versions. This will seem too detailed, but in many cases you can find yourself working overtime to adapt a website to Internet Explorer 6.0. I recommend that you only work with the .
Devices: The same goes for devices. Nowadays making a responsive web is increasingly difficult due to the wide range of smartphones and tablets on the market. To make sure that we are not going to have to adapt a website to a Chinese copy of an iPhone from an unknown brand, it is best to limit yourself to iOS and Android.
Accessibility: Should the web be accessible to people with visual disabilities? Let’s not take these things “for granted”, because then we can have problems. I recommend Genesis, which by default is more than prepared for it. You can take a look at the , there you will see it. And if you choose to do it with another method, make sure first that it can be done.

Marketing

Technical SEO: Should the web be prepared and optimized for search engines? Or will that part already be done by the client? Will you be able to do it simply by installing a plugin, or is the software we use bespoke or without SEO plugins?
charging speed: Do you want a website that loads fast and can? Or just a nice “catalog” website, even if it takes a long time to load?
Social: In the event that we want to share the web on social networks, we must have the web prepared with , so that all the extended information appears
Sitemap: Should the website include a sitemap tool to validate in tools like Google Webmaster Tools? If so, we must use a technology that allows us to install a plugin that does it, or we must create it manually.
Corporate identity: Is corporate identity included in web development? If the client already has an identity, logo and brand, or if it must be developed in the project itself, it will imply a very different workload.

and a thousand other things

Here I have only mentioned 20 important points that from experience I have seen can be problematic if left undefined. But we could add many more depending on the nature of each website.

It has nothing to do with a website corporate with a eCommercea membership sitea Blog or a website of personal brand. They are completely different projects, with very different requirements, and therefore different analysis of requirements.

If you want me to make a specific list or checklist for any of these types of websites, I will develop it in a future tutorial.

And if you are a developer and you have come across any other point that you think is interesting to add, contact me and I will add it. This way you can contribute 🙂

Summary and conclusion

The web requirements analysis is a document in which the developer and the client agree on the requirements that the web must have.

This list must be as complete as possible to avoid possible misinterpretations of what the web should and should not have, and it is a way of eliminating insecurities for both the client and the developer.

And you already know, if you are interested in the world of web programming, I also recommend the tutorial on When to charge your services, and available in the courses section 😉