Let's tell you a secret - we don't build websites. We deploy data rich online content with numerous views for displaying content and data. This big difference means we focus on information rich websites, which happens to double as amazing websites.
We think data first. How can we make data intelligently exist on a website which is useful to users? Our passion for data is what drives our development.
Once clients take that leap, recognising that websites should not be a maintenance nightmare, that they can automate publishing data to the website and see it magically update on the website, clients make that "Ta da" moment.
Instead of seeing a website that needs be built, see it that you have data which needs discovering. Your business has information which will make your customer's lives easier.
You have specific design requirements. You have specific user functionality needed. You feel it would be better to have a bespoke vendor develop the website?
It does not have to be like this. Much of our website is about dropping content and components into the platform. Whilst some additional development may be needed, our focus is on allowing functionality to be added to our platform without significant redevelopment.
A customer asks us to add payment handling for premium access to our website. The customer would like us to add stripe to your platform, and security for accessing this information.
A typical website development company would set about developing the integration of stripe, and a security layer within the website. This puts the website on a critical payment path, and - if the client later found Stripe to not be what they wanted, this may result in a rewrite, if they chose to use PayPal for example.
Info Rhino would firstly, analyse the functionality required from a process flow. We would then identify a number of providers to establish if this functionality is generic. Once determined, we would add security and this process flow in via droppable components. The goal is for the client or a third party to be capable of implementing this independent of Info Rhino in the future.
We currently use Twitter Bootstrap. Our website is designed to work how we want it to work but we are completely open to new ideas and new directions. We welcome your input and work with our designers to improve the website quality.
We will work with any client wishing to add specific functionality and work to outsource these client-side components. This has many advantages;
Our research, and experience, shows that a continual frustrating element of software procurement is the avoidance to explain what something will cost.
One of the most important elements to getting a website implemented is that the client knows how long it will take.
Quite simply, it is a question of vision. When you hire a website development agency, you are asking technical graphical designers to put together a website. When you engage Info Rhino, instead, you are envisioning how you want your customers will engage with us through your superior online presence.
That simple difference, sharing a vision, and knowing what to expect in terms of both price and deliverables is why we are the go-to solution experts.
For those still wondering, here are our high-level items we use when considering outsourcing website vendors.
It is possible there are millions of organisations and individuals capable of building a website. There are thousands of different platforms which a website can be built on. Many of these platforms have hundreds of developers contributing to their ongoing improvement, and so the question has to be - what does Info Rhino's websites beat every other website and website design agency on the planet?
When making your decision, we recommend performing a costs benefit analysis of choosing the provider, platform, technology, aesthetics, third-party plugins.
We always advise considering;
What your customer wants.
How you want your business to be portrayed.
What you are willing to pay.
How much time your organisation;
Expects to maintain the website.
Expects to maintain Social Media and presence on other platforms.
Expects to spend on the project initiation.
What kind of support and assistance you expect.
When thinking about costs, it is vital that all costs are considered;
In our article Articles > What are the biggest mistakes made when commissioning website development(link), we covered some of the many skills required when building a website. We provide an Advisory Solutions(link) service where we can help organisations requiring help with outsourcing and managing website projects. If you decide to do this alone, we can't give specific guidance, but here are some of the things we do;
One core consideration is that uptime, especially with outages for even the most largest of platforms such as Facebook is never guaranteed. We take a pragmatic approach with our own platforms, but many clients will require much more stringent expectations. Ensure you are realistic with your requirements, but please leave no stone unturned.
At Info Rhino, we have a threshold of clients we expect to serve in a year. Our platforms just work, and we strive to give you as much freedom to work with our platforms as possible. We have a clear roadmap in terms of our platform. Conversely, each client has their specific needs and we will only implement the right solution for the right client needs.
It is worth pointing out that we don't consider ourselves a web development agency or website development consultancy. Our skills are in data, but we have had so much expertise delivering reporting platforms and websites, offering this quality service makes so much sense.
We can't compete on bargain basement price, but we can deliver quality starter and web data platforms that works.