If you are thinking of creating a new website, whether as a completely new project or as a replacement or redesign of an existing site, it can seem like a daunting prospect. If you have never managed a site build before, it is good to know what to expect when embarking on this kind of project.
The process really breaks down in to phases, starting with Phase 1…
Research
From the web designer and developers perspective, the research element of the process is vital. If a new site is to meet the client expectations it is important to know what those expectations are. Ideally research would include a meeting to discuss the current site, the issues with it and the objectives for the new site, budgets and scope of work required as well as the profile of their customer and how they want users to interact with the site. Once these objectives are clarified, you can move on to phase 2…
Planning
Planning is where the web designer and developer would start to outline the initial ideas for the structure and layout of the site. This is the time to think about the main navigation, the different topic areas of the site and how they relate to one another. Sketching out a hierarchy of pages and basic architecture of the site and thinking about how you can try to keep the look of the site consistent across all the different areas. You don’t need to have the content itself worked out at this stage, but it is important to try and create a structure to work within. Once you have an idea of how you are going to structure the site and your topic areas, it’s time to move on the Phase 3…
Design
The design of the site from the minds eye of the client can sometimes be difficult to pin down. One of the questions we often ask clients at this stage of the process is if there are any websites they particularly like the look of. This can help get a feel for the look they are after. Although we don’t generally use template designs for websites it can also be helpful to use these as a design guide. Usually a static mock-up of the home page and content pages would be produced for agreement and refining before moving on phase 4…
Development
Once we have a good idea of how the client wants the site to look we would move on to creating the site itself. We use DNN to build websites which is a content management system. The development stage is where we start to create the structure of the site and the pages themselves, linking them together to create the site. This is where any modules would be added for functionality, such as ecommerce, blogs, news feeds, booking engines etc. This would also be where the site content itself would be needed to populate the site. Photos, web copy, downloads etc. would all be added at this stage. Usually a development version of the site would be available for the client to look at and any changes made to the structure or layout would be finalised at this stage. Ultimately, there will be a fully working development version of the site and then we can move on to Phase 5…
Testing and Launch
The site will need to be fully tested at this stage, to ensure all links, forms and modules are working as they should, that there are no browser conflicts or other usability issues with the site. This is also the opportunity to proof read all the content for accuracy before the site is launched. Once the site is live there is a 6th and final phase…
Site maintenance
Far from being the end of the process, publishing your newly built website leads to, arguably one of the most important phases and that is the ongoing maintenance of your site. We do not mean maintenance in the sense of repairs but more in terms of the ongoing upkeep. Adding fresh content to your website in the form of blog posts, news items, events and other information is a crucial element in the future success of your site. In terms of SEO, the technical elements of this are built into the site at the development phase but they will only take you so far so adopting a schedule for adding fresh content regularly will help with your Google search ranking over time. Most sites we build come with our ContentPro module included which makes adding fresh content quick and simple. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to this yourself, consider using a content creation service.