Southern Building Business - Fall - 1999

What Does Your Web Page Do For YOU?

By Dan Jacobs

Practical vs. mere Presence.

Many companies are finding that creating a web page for their construction company is like making a poster for the science fair - after a lot of effort and expense, no one looks at it. In fact, most construction company websites aren't much more than an online bro-chure consisting of basic company in-formation.

It seems as though the construction industry is the last group to grasp the power of the Internet. The Web is proving to be not only a useful promo-tional medium for construction but also a fantastic means of actually communi-cating and administering construction projects. Long gone are the days when a simple corporate presence on the Internet was sufficient.

New Advances Open Internet Doors

Advancements in web technology have opened new doors for your company's online strategy. Forward thinking con-struction companies are making the dollar investment now, so they can place materials orders online, solicit bid requests from subcontractors, and even manage entire projects. Online planning and facilities management have extended the general contractors' reach and opened new streams of revenue.

But, you won't get there by just "adding a button" to your static website. Blind desire to "expand online" is not enough to successfully kick your web presence into high gear.

Get Professional Help the Easy Way

Depending on amateurs for your Web presence is the first recipe for disaster. When you consider the speed at which the Internet is advancing, it's not fair to simply say that the construction indus-try has not kept up with the advances in technology. The tools themselves are constantly changing.

For example, the "language" (HTML) that 90+% of the web sites today are written in will soon be obsolete with the dawn of advanced programming environments. As a result, there's a pretty good chance that your 12-year-old nephew will no longer have the requisite skills to maintain your company's web presence for you. (You wouldn't have kids running your jobsites, would you?)

Next, The Right Tools for the Job

You would not expect your painter or plumber to perform their work without the tools of the trade. So, the obvious question is why do so many contractors attempt to harness the power of the Internet without the right tools (that is the right software)?

Many commercial Internet applications are currently available for the con-struction industry - there's no need to reinvent the wheel. Take advantage of the enormous amount of research and development dollars already being spent by leading software vendors to develop ready-to-use solutions for contractors.

Three Steps to Web Success

Remember that the early adopters of Internet-enabled construction have forged a path for you to follow. As with any new venture, it's sound advice to begin small and grow as your needs become more defined and your comfort level increases.

Step 1: Web-Based Faxing:
Beginning with a simple web based broadcast fax program is a start in the right direction. Using the "public pipes" can slash communications costs associated with the daily grind of long-distance faxing, while providing an easy way to manage who was sent what and when.

Step 2: Web-Based Project Man-agement:
Next, step up to online project management - electronic mes-saging, group scheduling, and docu-ment control are all part of the leading "project extranet" solutions commer-cially available.

Step 3: Tie office accounting and estimating to Web faxes and project management to create an integrated online solution.

1. Get to the point. Typing "Con-struction Software" is not specific enough to deliver a qualified response. As of print time 509 sites qualified for the "Construction Software" search. Try typing multi-word search criteria. For example: Construction, Project Management. If you want to be even more specific, try placing your spe-cialty at the end of the search. Exam-ple: Construction, Project Manage-ment, homebuilder.
   
   
2. Broaden your search to include more than one search engine. Search engines utilize different methods for categorizing and searching web sites, and no single engine indexes more than 15% or so of the Internet at large. By utilizing multiple search engines you will have a better shot at identifying all players in the market. Two very good "meta" search sites are Dogpile (www.dogpile.com) and CNet's search.com (www.search.com).