3 Key Phases In The Website Development Process

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September 2, 2016 |

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By: Rebecca Teaff and Julia Archer, Redstart Creative 

Developing a website can be a long, time-consuming project. This is why we break down the process into three key phrases. By breaking down the website development process into steps, each phase can be focused on intensely as part of the whole.

Phase 1: Planning and Exploration

The planning and exploration phase lays the foundation for the website development process. Although many people think that the actual design component is the main part of the website development process, the planning phase sets the project up for success.

During this phase, we dive deep into the functionality of the site. Some of the items that are discussed during this time are:

  • Site map
  • Must-have functionality features
  • Design requests/wishes
  • User experience
  • Site architecture

 

Since this phase is the most crucial in the web development project, many in-person meetings will be conducted. The planning and exploration phase is also the most time-intensive part of the web development process, with both organization point people at Redstart and their leadership teams being involved in this step.

 

Phase 2: Design

The design part of the web development process is the most visual part of the process. This is when we develop the look that your audience will actually see on the finished website.

Website design is broken down into two parts:

  • Wireframing: This portion of the project consists of an initial sketch of where items will be placed on the various template pages. Templates for pages such as the blog, team, sidebar, full width and others will be sketched out. Color schemes will also be chosen at this point. Check out the photo below to get an idea of what this step looks like!
  • Photoshop Layout: After wireframes, a Photoshop layout is created to encompass illustrations and other imagery. Once this is approved, we can move onto development and make the site “move.”

 Phase 3: Development

In this final phase, the website “comes to life.” During the development stage, the design layout gets it’s functionality. The design will be coded into a completely functional marketing tool. Any wishes/requests about functionality that were discussed in the planning stage will be incorporated at this point in the process. We will also make sure your website is completely optimized for different devices at this point. We provide a polished finished product on the front end and a user-friendly experience on the back end. After the website development project is completed, edits to the site are easily made by client team members, completely independant of Redstart!  

 

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