10 Stages of Website Design
1. Define
- The product or service;
- The purpose of the website; and
- The target audience;
2. Requirements
- Number of webpages;
- Function of each webpage;
- Initial list of keywords;
- Colour scheme;
- Customised graphics/logo; and
- Special features.
3. Quote
- Costi the project; and
- Tender quotation.
4. Receive Content
- Final draft of text for each webpage; and
- Images, photos or logo.
5. Plan
- Analyse competitors' websites;
- Propose the website structure, folder/webpage names;
- Prepare the webpage template;
- Prepare/validate the Style Sheet;
- Perform a keyword analysis;
- Suggest alternative/additional keywords as necessary;
- Prepare a webpage mock-up; and
- Receive/review/respond to client feedback.
6. Develop & Test
- Create custom graphics or logo;
- Optimise the client's draft text for keywords and keyword density;
- Hand code the optimised text into XHTML or HTML;
- Optimise other 'onpage' elements (links, image "alt" attributes, page title, meta tags, etc);
- Verify all local and outbound links;
- Validate the XHTML / HTML code;
- Check compliance with WCAG 1.0;
- Test for cross-browser compatibility;
- Test functionality/usability;
- Upload development milestones to a temporary internet location; and
- Receive/review/respond to client feedback on each milestone.
7. Final Acceptance
- Upload the completed website to a temporary internet location; and
- Receive/review/respond to client feedback.
8. Publish
- Upload the website by FTP to the client's domain or web space; and
- Receive/review/respond to client feedback.
9. Promote
- Submit the website URL to the major search engines and directories; and
- Receive/review/respond to client feedback.
10. Maintain
- Update the content to keep it fresh for repeat visitors; and
- Receive/review/respond to client feedback.