Web terms SME operators need to understand #1: Platform

Recently we’ve looked at some concepts that SME operators should be across if they don’t want to be taken for a ride by rogue operators who can plague the web landscape.

During the coming weeks we’re going to expand on some of those concepts so you have all the relevant facts.

It’s easy to dismiss some areas of business or at least assume that our hired in-house or outsourced expertise is across it.

Even if you have great IT and/or web help it’s a great idea for management to grasp the relevant terms because they impact on the bottom line of a business.

It’s a bit like running a vehicle. You may not completely grasp how it works but you understand words like service, maintenance, fuel, oil, tyres, economy, paintwork, panel-beating, radiators and so on and how much they can cost if they are ignored.

What is a web platform?

“Platform” means the suite of website management tools you use to run your website and associated web communications.

It is often referred to as the “back end” of the website as distinct from the “front end” – the website’s public face.

It’s the technical platform your website and associated tools sit on or is underpinned by – similar to the foundations of a house.

Your platform may include integrated features like a content management system, a customer relationship management system, an email marketing system, a form builder and so on, usually remotely (or cloud) hosted to allow remote administration.

Platforms have also been known as software, administration area, content management system and even hosting.

Technically none of those is completely accurate, with software usually separated from its output. For instance a Word document as distinct from the Word program or software and a  platform is inseparable from its output (the website).

Administration area or admin describes the user interface rather than the technology itself.

A content management system accurately describes the components that are used to add and edit content, but is a part of the platform rather than the platform itself – a platform can do much more than just manage content.

One of the most confusing descriptions for the platform is that of hosting, which refers to the server space allocated to the platform and not the platform itself. Many platform vendors add to the confusion by suggesting that their monthly fees are for hosting.

That habit does them a disservice because it understates the role of the platform and provides an inaccurate description of the real value of what is being provided.

It also leads customers to think they are being overcharged for the hosting component when that is just a part of the overall offering.

Instead they should state that the ongoing fees are for the “platform license which is bundled with hosting” to avoid that confusion.

How have platforms come about?

The notion of a website platform has evolved due to the intrinsic nature of programming code to be duplicated. 

In the past a platform with the features outlined above would have taken programmers thousands of hours to build and would have cost tens of thousands of dollars or more.

Once a platform is built in can be duplicated in exactly the same way that you might copy a Word document or a spreadsheet, so the cost of building one is essentially identical to building one million.

Because the cost of building a platform was so prohibitive web designers originally didn’t both providing one at all, instead simply creating a website with web-building tools in much the same way that you would create a Word Document using MS Word.

In other words the “output” and not the platform upon which the output sat. That meant that unless you were pretty well versed in the same software that the designer used you had little chance of managing any aspect of the website.

You had to engage the designer on an ongoing basis to make any change, let alone be able to manage the content, operate a shopping cart, manage an email campaign and so on.

That situation is illustrated below.

Website A and Website B look identical to the public but A is immeasurably more valuable to its client business because it includes all the tools it needs to fully manage the website and all of its associated email marketing and customer relationship capabilities.

Why platforms are important

It’s no accident that I have made “platforms” the first of this series. 

Platforms are critical to smaller organisations because without them you will be up for a range of avoidable charges.

First, without it you need to pay your designer for the most basic changes.

That fact alone is an obstacle to making regular changes to your website – a critical capability these days.

Related to that is the delay waiting for your designer to make changes when with a good platform you can make them immediately and without charge.

Second, all your website and web marketing features are likely not to be fully integrated, meaning you will experience all kinds of data duplication, which can be costly and inefficient.

Thirdly, a good platform will be upgraded and improved continuously without further charge. 

Without platforms you will have to keep up to date with developments in the web industry and you will have to pay the designer to make those improvements for you.

Platforms mean huge savings for SMEs

For larger businesses the costs involved in going down the designer route rather than the platform route are not so critical.

That alternative may mean they have exactly the solution they need rather than one they may have to compromise on.

So they may well be able to afford the significant cost of web designers, developers, search engine optimisers and so on to manage the ongoing evolution of their online presence.

For smaller businesses the cost of regularly hiring professionals would soon become prohibitive.

Platforms can cost as little as nothing in some cases – although there is usually a payoff at some point – to several hundred dollars a month, depending on the number and complexity of features you require.

It’s critical that small business operators know what a platform is and that it is fully explored as the most viable option for their next website.

In addition to being a leading eBusiness educator to the smaller business sector, Craig Reardon is the founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which was established to address the special website and web marketing needs of SMEs in Melbourne and beyond.