07/05/2022 | by Ross Marshall
If you are starting a new business or have been around for a while, starting a new website can be a daunting process. This post will remove the confusion about what’s involved from a developer.
It will also describe what’s expected from you as a client.
Before you begin
Before you get started you should first have a brief for your website project. A brief can be in-depth or simple, but should include;
- Introduction A description of your business and the general goal of the project.
- Business Needs These are the specific goals that the website is aiming to achieve.
- Target Audience Needs A definition of your target audience for the project. Are they current or new customers? Are they a certain age, gender or location? Then how the project will assist the target audience.
- Budget A clear budget will help determine how to best achieve the project goals.
A clear brief will help the developer know exactly what your goals are. This is important to make sure everyone is happy with the end result.
Now to get started with the project, here are the stages that the project will go through; Here we create a sitemap and interactive prototype.
A sitemap is a diagram of the pages that will feature on the website. This is a collaborative step and what pages are needed will depend on your goals and content.
A prototype is a stripped down but interactive version of the website. All functionality is then tested and approved in the browser so you get a clear idea how the website will work.[/cs_text]
What you need to know and do
This step will give you a definition of what content the website needs. You should also have a clear idea of what content you are responsible for (copy, images, video etc).Design
Design of website user experience and user interface. With a focus on allowing the target audience to navigate and use the website to achieve their needs.
What you need to know and do
You will need to provide feedback throughout this step. The design will need to approved before moving to the next step.Development
Development of working website on the WordPress content management system.
What you need to know and do
You should now be finished producing the content and have it ready to be added to website.Content
This is where you will need to have all the content ready and added to the website. This will be the final content as it will appear at launch.
What you need to know and do
Get the word out there! You have a new website, make sure people are checking it out.Launch
The final round of testing on the live server, then the site goes live. The site is then submitted to search engines and promoted through social media.
What you need to know and do
Training on how to update the website with WordPress will happen at this stage. Giving you control over the content going forward.Track
We’re not done yet. After the site is live it is important to keep track of your goals by analysing Google Analytics data.Now you should have a clearer idea of what’s involved in a new website project. If you have any further questions get in touch.
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