The Web Design & Website Development Process

In this article, we’ll show how to conceptualise a process that can organize a Web developer’s thoughts, speed up a project’s timeline and give clients an idea of how the website development process takes place. While the exact web development process varies between projects, the basics remain the same.

Here are the 8 basic stages of the web development process:

1. Analyse

Every business has different goals and objectives that analyzing each client’s requirements is a must. This first step is actually the most important one, as it involves a solid understanding of all the aspects of clients’ business needs especially how the website is going to be integrated with their existing marketing strategies. These aspects may consist of your business goals and objectives and how the web can be developed to help you achieve those goals.

The web developer or the web development company that you hire should take time to talk with you, ask a lot of questions to determine your goals, gather information and begin analysing and planning to make them happen.

These are the things to consider for web development:

• What is the purpose of the website?
• What are the goals and objectives of the website?
• Who are your target audience?
• Who are your competitors?
• How many web pages do you want and what content do you want to include in the website?

2. Planning

In the planning stage, it is decided and mapped here the process for the entire project. Your web developer will work with you to create a strategy that takes the best your company has to offer and combines it with a professional website marketing tool. On the basis of the information that was gathered together, the sitemap is created to give you an opportunity to review the inner structure of the site and how the entire site will look.

The sitemap describes the relationship between the different pages of a website that makes it easy for the end-user to navigate each web page and find the information or service they are looking for if they start from the homepage.

3. Design

Once the design process begins, your website takes shape on how it will look and feel for the end-user. All the visual brand content, such as images, photos, and videos is created at this stage.

In this stage, constant communication between both you and your web developer is important to make sure that the final website will match your needs and requirements. It is critical that you work closely with your developer, reviewing each progress of the project, exchanging ideas, and giving comments for modifications and improvement until you arrive at the final design for your website. In due course, you will have the opportunity to approve a full site design.

4. Content Writing

At this stage, writing all the information for your web pages will take place. This information includes your company details, products/services, team members, and others that you’d like to communicate to the audience that will attract and motivate them to engage with the website. As a rule, the client will provide website content to integrate into the site. Some web development companies have their content writer who can do the task for you but it is better when all website content is provided by you because no one knows about your company information other than you.

5. Develop

The website developmental stage is the point where strong strategies are in place, and an approved design takes place to create the website itself. At this time, your web developer will take all of the visual elements and content from the prototype and use them to program, code and create the actual, functional site.

Elements such as content management systems like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal, interactive contact forms, online payment or e-commerce shopping carts are implemented and made functional during this stage, as well.

The development process should also incorporate any needed responsiveness, and make sure it all reacts to user interaction properly.

6. Test and Review

At this point, your completed website is now ready for intensive testing. Your web developer will test things such as load testing, resolution testing and cross-browser compatibility testing. They should test the complete functionality of the website without a fail and figure out any potential problems such as broken links, forms or other script issues which may keep your site from operational to its maximum potential. A combination of manual and automated testing of the site on a variety of devices should be done to ensure that the site is working well.

This is also the time that you will have to review the completed website and give your final approval for launching. Some web designers offer web design and development packages that include domain name registration and web hosting services so that they can also host your site. Once these accounts have been setup, and your website uploaded to the server, the site should be put through one last run-through. This is just precautionary, to be sure that all your files have been installed correctly, and that the site continues to be fully functional.

7. Implement

Once everything has been approved, it’s time to launch the website! The web designers and developers take pride in their work while the customer takes pride in their new investment for their company.

The developer should provide documentation and guides to the customer for maintenance and updating purposes.

8. Maintenance

This last and final step of the web development process is often overlooked by web developers or freelancers, but website maintenance is critical for the long-term health and success of any website to bring repeat visitors. You can do the maintenance and updating on your own if you have the technical knowledge. However, many developers offer maintenance packages at affordable rates, it’s up to you to purchase or not.

Your web developer should work closely with you during the process. A good relationship with your developer is important to ensure that they are building a website in the most efficient and effective that will help your business grow successfully.