You can send an SMS from a website to a mobile phone, or you can SMS “some text” from your mobile phone to a designated number and then receive a response back almost immediately. How does all this work? What is involved? From the sounds of it, you might think that implementing this service is a daunting task and complicated process but in practice, it is quite simple.

The SMS or Short Message Service facility can be implemented for tasks like member registration, sending newsletter announcements to subscribed members, accept online biddings, integrating with a billing system, or any other functionality you can think of.

There are two important considerations you should keep in mind before commencing your SMS service implementation.
1. Finding a web developer.
2. Selecting a suitable SMS gateway provider.

Finding a web developer:
Finding a skilled and experienced web developer is the most important decision as far as the success of your project is concerned. Before making your decision, you should ask your potential developer several questions.

• How many years of experience does the developer have? Preferably more than three years of working as a developer on a day to day basis.
• Has the developer previously worked on any SMS projects?
• And if so, ask them to show you an example of a project which they have done implementing the SMS service and what functionalities of SMS service that project provides.

The importance of these questions is due to the development work for SMS service implementation being slightly more complicated and thus requiring a different approach to it. Technically, an SMS gateway passes a user’s SMS request to a single script file (ASP, PHP, ASPX, CFM). This file should be able to efficiently query a database and process the SMS request, including catching any errors. Another important point is that there is a length limitation of 168 characters on all SMS requests. A developer who has experience with SMS projects will be able to develop your service to enable scalability. Therefore, when your business expands or grows in the future, the existing SMS facility should incorporate with minimum effort the new rules or requests that can be processed. A good implementation does not only mean meeting your current requirements, but also have the foresight to determine possible future needs and applying a solution that anticipates these needs.

If your project involves an innovative idea or design process, patented or otherwise, it is recommended that you sign a "Confidentiality Agreement" before discussing the details of your project with the selected developer. Discussions would include project specifications, a tentative timeline and costing. Some developers may charge a fee for providing a detailed quote. However, this is justified as the developer would need to spend time understanding your requirements thoroughly.

An owner or investor of the project will usually look at the requirements from a business perspective, while the developer will review the same requirement from a technical perspective. It is crucial that both owner/investor and developer understands clearly what the project is meant to do and both are on the same level as far as understanding of the project is concerned. It is important to mention here that all specifications must be identified clearly and as specifically as possible prior to commencement of any development work.

Once you have settled the matter of a developer, the requirements, cost and a timeline, it will be time to select a suitable SMS gateway. The charges for an SMS gateway will vary from vendor to vendor. Usually the owner/investor in consultation with the developer should research the various SMS providers and find one that best suits the project discussed.

Selecting suitable SMS gateway provider:
Consider few points while selecting SMS gateway provider.

• How long has the SMS gateway provider been in business? Preferably more than 4 years.
• What kind of technical support is provided and how to they handle them?
• What is the response time or how fast does the provider respond to enquires?
• Are they able to answer your enquiries clearly and in a manner that you can understand?
• Does the gateway provider offer reduced rates for SMS sent during development and testing phases?
• What is the minimum contract term? Look for providers which allow shorter contract terms in the beginning. If there is frequent downtime, at least you can change vendors without much loss in cost.
• Can you find referrals for the vendors? The best way to determine reliability of service is through referrals.

There are two ways you could be charged by SMS gateway provider
Scenario 1: SMS "some text" to designated number, for example 1900 ***.
Scenario 2: Send SMS from website to mobile
Your project may incur one or both of these costs depending on your project requirements.

Scenario1. A user sends SMS from a mobile phone to 1900 ***.
When you SMS to a designated number, the gateway provider could charge you a flat fee, for instance 55 cents. You in turn could set your fee to the user at 1 dollar. Depending on the users mobile phone carrier (Optus, Telstra, Vodafone or others), you will receive a percentage of the cost from this carrier. This percentage will vary among the telecommunication carriers.

Scenario 2. An SMS is sent from a website to a user's mobile phone.
You can set up your website to actually send SMS to mobile phones. This method may be used to send a single or mass SMS to members of your site to promote your service, send a newsletter or as advertising. The cost of this type of service depends of the package you have subscribed for with the provider. For instance, a vendor may charge $75 for a package of 500 SMS, the cost being 15 cents per SMS, and a different package of $110 for 1000 SMS at a cost of 11 cents each. The usual case is the higher the volume of messages, the lower the cost per message.

With the right skills and tools, your project is all set to go. Wishing you good luck and have fun during the development process.

Variation of this article specifically for business owners can be read from September 2006 issue of "My Business" magazine. For more information please their website www.mybusiness.com.au/

Suraj Rai
NETable team.

[+/-] About the Author
Suraj Rai is a web consultant with NETable with over 5 years experience in the web industry and manages projects at NETable.

The above article is an expression of author’s personal views. Any individual or organization wishing to excerpt and/or re-use article from this website, must contact the author for permission and reprint requirements. Content on this article may not be used for any commercial purpose or personal use without the express written permission of the author.