Interview

I interviewed Ken Edwards, President of a web development company called ICN Ventures, Inc. Ken said that the most kind of communication that he does is educating customers and potential clients about developing a website and helping them to understand the dynamics of purchasing a site. Most people call and want a website, but they do not know where to start, how much it is going to cost them, or what is even available. Sometimes people want a professional website with graphics and content for almost nothing, while others are willing to pay a tremendous amount of money without even realizing what is available to them. Ken's biggest job is to communicate what ICN Ventures can do for them and help them come up with solutions that will fit their business.

The most writing done in web development is emails to clients, contract, estimates, and design layouts. Ken spends a significant portion of time responding to questions of his clients via email and discussing design proposals online. The more technical documents he has to write are contracts that describe user agreements for privacy and payment options when developing a site. Ken also writes up formal estimates to give people not only an idea of how much their website will cost, but also dictate exactly what is included and set boundaries on update plans and hosting fees.

About 10 percent of his time he said was spent on writing and the best way to prepare for this field is to learn how to clearly communicate technical aspects of this profession in very simple terms that will allow people to understand how to best meet their business needs.