How many times have you seen the wrong tool used for the wrong job. I have been dealing with a company looking to set up a new e-commerce venture and during the process of them receiving ideas from other companies they were offered Drupal as a solution to their needs. Drupal – a very good, open source Content Management System, but not really something you’d offer as a solution for selling a product. It gets me wondering whether some people just don’t know what tools are on offer or whether its just people giving bad advice.
Having many years of experience in different systems and technologies myself, a mistake like this is obvious to spot. However, if a client hasn’t got any information to the contrary, they could potentially use this as a viable solution which in itself is scary. I’m sure the Drupal e-commerce component fits the bill for certain people, but as a number one recommendation it’s rather bazaar. For reference, I’d recommend something proven like Magento.
It makes you wonder how many clients have received something that doesn’t quite fit the brief or expectations when dealing with other companies. It’s could literally mean fitting a square inside a circle.
The most important part of getting what you want is the requirements gathering stage. There is an action both on the client and the company in this instance, where the client should be as detailed as possible to the developer and the developer can then talk through ways in which the goals can be achieved and surpassed. Before undertaking any work you must think about the business goals, the design goals and the development goals of a project, and only then we can make a recommendation of which product best fits the bill or whether any bespoke work needs to be undertaken.
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