The document provides 45 rules of web development for PR professionals to help them effectively manage digital projects and avoid annoying developers, alienating designers, and looking stupid in front of clients. Some key tips include starting with the user experience, planning for contingencies as timelines often slip, properly briefing teams and clients, and continuously learning about the technical aspects of web development.

1. 45 rules of web
development
for PR people
(AKA how not to annoy and
destroy your developers,
alienate designers and look
stupid in front of clients).

2. Don’t assume anything.

3. Know your DNS from your IP address (there
are some terms you just gotta know)

4. Know the basic first questions to ask. The same
each time. First is always why? Then audience,
hosting, access, tech, deadlines, budget…

5. Learn how to write a brief. And fast. Your career
depends on how well you can brief people.

6. Start with the user. Always. You don’t
personally need to be an expert in UX but you
always start there.

7. Few digital projects are the same. Designers
and developers are sometimes as new to this
as you are.

8. Adapt the planning process to fit the
individual campaign. Figure out early what is
going to be less painful and more productive.

9. Plan around the deliverables but don’t
forget basics like holidays, meetings,
courses, client events…

10. A solid project plan is important but don’t
assume everything will go as planned. It
won’t. Ever.

11. Be clear when it needs to go live. Then
be clear when it REALLY needs to go
live

12. Think about metrics before you start and
when you’re building, not afterwards.

13. Check your team capacity at every stage
of the process. Have back-ups.

14. A wireframe is a site framework, not an
accurate technical drawing or design.

15. With responsive design and parallax/scrolling
sites, there is no longer a “fold” to be below.

16. Understand colours and fonts and how
they work on the web vs. in print.

17. Think about measurement across all channels.

18. Edits cost money, build in sufficient rounds or
your margin will walk out of the door before
your designs are signed off.

19. IE8 and below are closer to an etch-a-sketch
than a browser.

20. Always view mockups at full size.

21. Build in double the time you think you’ll
need for edits and approvals.

22. Assume content will be late and factor in
appropriately.

23. Inches and centimetres have no place or
meaning on screen (e.g. don’t ask to 'nudge a
logo up a few mm’)

24. Always be aware of responsive viewing
on different devices.

25. Know what your team’s capabilities are –
assign clear ownership, especially when
multiple agencies involved.

26. Get it in writing – no backtracking allowed!

27. Forget traditional typesetting (at least in
terms of body content).

28. • Know your devices and their limitations
• Know your browsers and their limitations
• Know your audience and their limitations

29. Your PR client probably hasn't got overall
sign off without input from brand, legal, IT
etc. Check this at the outset.

30. If it comes back without changes, the
right person hasn’t seen it yet.

31. Good developers are very hard to find.
Handle with care in the main, kick ass only if
occasionally necessary.

32. Designers and developers don't work 24/7.
Unless your support contract specifies it.

33. Know when to push back on your client and
when to push back on your developers. Use
both wisely and don’t confuse the two.

34. It's perfectly fine to say "no" or “not in
time for launch” if there genuinely isn’t
the time to do something well.

35. When timelines slip or launch
approaches, build a 'real world' list rather
than a 'wish list' and prioritise accordingly

36. Things can, do and always will go wrong;
have alternative suppliers in case you
need them for support.

37. No matter how much you test, there will
always be someone somewhere who
can’t get the thing to work.

38. DNS propagation can take up to and
even beyond 48hours. Not everything
online is immediate.

39. Video and animation takes forever to
render and upload. Changes cost money
and take time, it’s not Microsoft Word.

40. If timescales slip on the client side,
suggest launching in phases.

41. Remember that your devs and designers do
have lives of their own….

42. Check and double check the SEO plans
and agreements for the project, if any.

43. Invest as much time/money/thought/effort
into promoting it as you do building it.

44. Learn each time. And keep learning. And
learn from your mistakes.

45. Beware of knowing a bit and becoming an
expert. You’re not. You’re learning.

46. When it is a web build, it is never
final. Ever.

47. what’s
NEXT
This was crowdsourced from our design and dev teams
by Becky McMichael, Ruder Finn
bmcmichael@ruderfinn.co.uk
@beckymcmichael
+44 (0) 7788 421165
*images taken from Flickr and used under CC