In this competitive world of web design, creating a website that is user-friendly, visually appealing, and successful is an uphill struggle for website designers.
An excellent website requires thorough research, planning, gathering information and creating content. From initial contact to launch – the web design process has many milestones that can be broken down into easy manageable stages. These milestones need to be reinforced with timelines that are doable and realistic.
That being said, let’s look at the milestones and timeline for the website design process.
Table of Contents
Initial Contact
This initial step is very crucial as it forms the project’s foundation for success. It involves understanding the requirement of the client and gathering relevant information. Therefore, when meeting the client, designers should ask questions and comprehend the target audience and the goals of the company. This will not only help you save a lot of time but also save you energy during the website design process.
Website designers in Greenville, SC must make sure they gather as much information as possible from the client.
Planning
The planning stage is yet another crucial stage in the web design process. Whatever is decided and mapped in this step sets milestones and timeline for the project further. This stage also requires the approval of the site-map that the designers create. So, designers must pay attention to details when taking feedback from their clients.
As soon as the site-map is approved, designers must decide which technology to use in designing wireframes.
Content
Content is the king, and that’s why it lies at the heart of every website. It is what hooks the users and keeps them coming back for more. A great content plan can not only help boost the traffic but can also increase the online presence and usability of a website. This stage is generally longer than the other stages and requires the knowledge of digital marketing in Greenville, SC
It’s a good idea to decide on the content before starting the visual design cycle. The timeline generally varies on the number of webpages and the fact that content is readily provided to the designer. If the client is not prompt with delivering the content, it will slow down the entire design process.
Design
Once the planning is done, the project moves up to the next stage — the visual design stage. In this step, the designer uses content and creates mockups to present to the client for approval.
The goal of this stage is to establish initial website designs so that the client can get an idea of the website’s intended look and determine the functionality of the webpages.
Once the client provides feedback and request changes, the designer must continue the process of fine-tuning the landing pages as well as inner webpages.
Development and Coding
Once the client has approved the design, the task of building the actual website begins. It’s time to refine the design and existing content, create new content, videos, infographics, slide shows, and other media that will appear on the website.
In this stage, the designers must create a demo installation for the client, so that he can review the webpages as they are being developed.
Launch
The big day is finally here!
Once the beta testing is done, the site is ready for its official launch. Since development and coding are already done, this major milestone takes very little time.
In this stage, designers must run final tests to be doubly sure that everything is functional. As soon as the website is reviewed and approved by everyone involved in the project, it’s time for the public to view it.
Once the site is launched, all you have to do is perform maintenance, provide updates and make improvements regularly.
Always remember, a website is a fluid medium, so the work of creating a website should not stop at the launch. Therefore, in order to stay competitive in search engine results, it is essential to keep the site up-to-date.
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