What Is Future-Proofing and Why Should I Care?

OK, so you've finally got the website of your dreams built for your business and things are going great. You're OK with the fact that you stretched the budget a little to go with that web development firm you really clicked with because you know it will pay off in the long run. You launch your site to great feedback and congratulations and then it happens.

Microsoft launches a new version of Explorer. The folks at Apple decide Safari needs an overhaul. Your main competitor adds some AJAX technology to their site. A group of #$%$ hackers work out a way to hack your website using a weakness in the technology you have chosen. Google changes the way they determine rankings.... and on its goes.

Owning a website is a lot like owning a house. It costs a bomb to get one in the first place and you then keep putting your hand in your pocket just to keep your head above water. And we haven't even talked about the cost of keeping your functionality state-of-the-art or your content up to date (if you made the decision not to pay the extra money and have a full featured content management system).

When it comes to websites the term future-proofing refers to taking steps to protect your investment and minimise the costs from future changes (that are largely outside of your control).

What can you do about this? Well, in the web world there are three main ways of getting a website built.

1. 100% Custom (bespoke development)

In some cases a web developer will start building your website from scratch. They will code every line of your site and when it is complete it is over to you. Every time you want a change they will go back in and charge you the full cost of the work involved. This is 100% flexible but can be very expensive if you have a complex website.

2. Customising existing technology

This is a very common way of working. In this case the web developer uses technology either they or someone else has developed previously. They use this as the basis for your website and then add to it and customise it as required. This can give you a head-start and save you money in upfront development fees. Generally though once the project is completed you are on your own and will pay full price for future changes as they are needed. This will be especially true if the building of your site has meant major changes to the existing technologies.

3. Using a hosted application (or Software as a Service [SaaS])

This approach describes the case where a service provider has built and maintains a network and infrastructure that runs not just your website but the website of hundreds or thousands of other customers. Typically, this approach will allow the service provider to 'skin' their system with your agreed upon site design and then modify the site functionality to suit your precise needs. A typical hosted application for a website would offer content management, e-commerce, secure areas, a form builder and search engine optimisation.

The strength of this approach is that rather than absorbing the costs of development and then future upgrades and costs yourself they are taken on by the service provider and passed on as fairly low monthly fees to all the customers. Such a model can achieve tremendous economies of scale and allow a small business website on a tight budget to make use of functionality they would never otherwise be able to afford.

There are also downsides to this approach. If your needs are very custom you may find the functionality of such a model can be overly restrictive. You also need to trust the service provider as ultimately they will need to support your website for you.

However, given the cost and time savings this is often a reasonable compromise for a business and one that can really give you the edge over your competitors who take either of the first two approaches without sufficient funding.