Phases of Web Design & Development

The first step in designing a successful web site is gathering information. Many things need to be taken into consideration while we design the look and feel of your website. So initially, we will ask a lot of questions to help us understand your business and your needs.

Using the information gathered from phase one, we put together a plan for your website.

Here we develop a site map – a list of all main topic areas of the site, as well as sub-topics (if applicable). This will guide us on what content will be on the site, and is essential to developing a consistent, easy to understand navigational system. This is also the point where we decide what technologies should be implemented – interactive forms, CMS (content management system) such as WordPress, etc.

Drawing from the information gathered up to this point, we determine the look and feel of the website. Target audience is one of the key factors taken into consideration here. For example, a website aimed at teenagers, will look much different than one meant for a financial institution. We also incorporate elements such as the company logo or colors to help strengthen the identity of your company on the web site.

Once we’ve designed a prototype, you are given access to the Client Studio, which is a secure area of our web site. The Client Studio allows you to view your project throughout the design and development stages. Most importantly, it gives you the opportunity to express your likes and dislikes on the site design.

In this phase, communication is crucial to ensure that the final web site will match your needs and taste. We work together in this way, exchanging ideas, until we arrive at the final design for the site. Then development can begin…

This is where the website itself is created. We take all of the individual graphic elements from the prototype and use them to create the functional web site. We also take your content and distribute it throughout the site, in the appropriate areas.

This entire time, you will continue to be able to view your site in the Client Studio, and suggest any additional changes or corrections you would like to have done.

At this point, we attend to the final details and test your web site. We test things such as the complete functionality of forms or other scripts, we test for last minute compatibility issues (viewing differences between different web browsers), ensuring that the site is optimized to be viewed properly in the most recent browser versions.Once we receive your final approval, it is time to deliver the site.

We upload the files to your server – in most cases, this also involves installing and configuring WordPress, along with a core set of essential plugins to help enhance the site. Here we quickly test again to make sure that all files have been uploaded correctly, and that the site continues to be fully functional. This marks the official launch of your site, as it is now visible to the public.

The development of your website is not necessarily over, though. One way to bring repeat visitors to your site is to offer new content or products on a regular basis. If this interests you, we will be more than happy to continue working together with you to update the information on your web site. We offer maintenance packages at reduced rates, based on how often you anticipate making changes or additions to your site.