This may be thought of as a companion volume to David Siegel's other fine book, Creating Killer Web Sites. While the previous book focused mainly on Web site design issues, Secrets of Succesful Web Sites concentrates on the project management side of things.
October 27, 1998
The book is divided into two sections: 15 case studies in Part 1, and 11 chapters on methodology in Part 2. The case studies detail the tribulations that went into sites for Stolichnaya, National Geographic, Doonesbury and Virgin Records, among others. Along the way, many valuable lessons are learned about planning, dealing with clients, handling revisions, working with subcontractors and effective project management.
The second section includes the following chapters:
Clients are from Mars, contractors are from Venus
The value of design
Partnering (for clients)
Partnering (for contractors)
Setup
The project site
Phase One - Strategy and tactics
Phase Two - Content development and design
Phase Three - Production
Phase Four - Launch and maintenance
Siegel has a great writing style, with just the sort of dry wit that's necessary for dealing with nutty Web development situations like those described. He never shirks from technical detail, but he maintains a readable narrative throughout the book.
Secrets of Succesful Web Sites is attractively laid out, with lots of attractive illustrations. It's a slick paperback, but well-bound and well-printed. Hasn't fallen apart yet!
Secrets of Succesful Web Sites and Siegel's other book, Creating Killer Web Sites, are both highly recommended.
The book is divided into two sections: 15 case studies in Part 1, and 11 chapters on methodology in Part 2. The case studies detail the tribulations that went into sites for Stolichnaya, National Geographic, Doonesbury and Virgin Records, among others. Along the way, many valuable lessons are learned about planning, dealing with clients, handling revisions, working with subcontractors and effective project management.