AboutSteve Valiquette Expertise Service providers and customers alike can benefit from my experience in establishing Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Call Center Support Procedures, Issues Management, Special Event Procedures, Disaster/Recovery Planning, Catastrophic Event Management, and day-to-day Server Farm issues. I also have significant experience in project management, project lifecycle planning and product development. I can contribute to many "how-tos" like: how to build a website, how to develop project management procedures, How to get the most from your hosting provider and much more.
Experience
Past/Present clients Transitions Optical, IBM, Intel, Computer Sciences Corp, Imperial Chemical Industries, Victoria Secrets, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bank of America, SEARS, State Street Bank, Peterson's CollegeQuest, Mobil Oil Corporation, Sprint PCS, MCI/Worldcom, UPS.
I am wanting to start an online dating service. I need some sort of an interactive program where a member can input certain criteria requests, and the search results will populate. This is the toughest part of business planning for me. Will I need to hire a web developer, or is there a computer language such as html that I can use to build my own program? Can I buy some sort of a software program off the shelf? I would appreciate any advice/information you may be able to provide. That you so much for taking the time to answer my question!
Answer Hi Sheila,
There are two parts to achieving the online dating service that you want...first is the website itself and second is the database. The two work together to provide both the interactiveness and the storage of data that you will need to run the site.
I can imagine that you could use some "off-the-shelf" tools to design the forms, database and website. But what you are thinking can be very technically demanding. I tell people that just because they have Microsoft Word doesn't mean they can write a book!
Your best bet is to spend as much time possible to map out exactly what you need and how you want your site to look and perform. Then find a reputable web designer to help you put it all together, like Datrys Technologies (www.datrystech.com). Datrys is my company so that was just a shameless plug!
But the more you can define before talking to the developers, the better off you'll be. You'll also save time and money.
If you are technically inclined, invest in MS VISIO and use that to create all the flowcharts of how everything will work on your site. This alone could save up to $15,000. Also, pick some sample sites and describe what you like about them. This will help speed up the look and feel of your new site.
