It’s a strange feeling, living in the age of the internet. You’d think that the data-driven future would be faster than ever before. While that’s true to a certain extent, website construction isn’t instantaneous. It still takes considerable man-hours to create and implement a digital experience that your customers will appreciate. Here’s a short breakdown of the steps:
Project Scope
During this stage, your team of designers and programmers are briefed on the specific deliverables and timelines. The functionality and user journey are clarified and expounded to enable them to understand the purpose of the website.
Wireframing
Wireframes are skeletal outlines of a website, enabling the team to visualize the page layout and discuss the pros and cons of each placement and functionality. This will help solidify the site architecture and ensure that each element is optimally placed.
Design
After the layout, the team decides on the site’s visual style, filling in the outline with color, illustrations, and photos. Here is when branding ideas are actualized. Completed and approved designs are replicated into HTML codes.
Database Development
The database contains the site’s information, which gets displayed. This includes a Content Management System (CMS) to enable administrators to add content and make non-structural revisions like updating the copy and replacing photos.
Mobile Version
M-sites are on their way out, but in case you prefer to code separately, you can optimize the viewing experience based on your end user’s mobile device. An easier way around this is to go for a responsive design which allows scaling on any platform.
User Acceptance Testing
The website is tested by an internal audience to determine if all functionalities are working as designed. Testers do everything that users are expected to do and more to see if there are any issues before the site is launched. Some larger companies go as far as hire hackers to try and destroy their sites to make sure that the platform is solid enough for everyone.
Launch
The site is released to the internet. Hopefully, most of the issues have been worked out by this time. However, it’s not surprising to find users complaining about the site experience at this point. There are too many variables on the internet to account for potential kinks, so be ready for anything.
Maintenance
Digital code can also undergo some form of wear and tear, so it’s important for programmers to regularly check performance to ensure that the site continues to run smoothly. Additionally, maintenance covers unexpected failures and other eventualities that may happen in the future.
Depending on the complexity of the website, the project can be completed in as short as three weeks to about three months, even more. The process of building a good working website takes time and patience, but the benefits far outweigh the hassle of waiting.
Need help in launching a new website? Our design team will be more than happy to work with you every step of the way.
