A Process to Design a Website

Oh, you are going to design a website. This is as a journey of generating new ideas, failure and success in short it will be a complete adventure. To create a website in a simple way then you should make a systematic strategy. There are the 5 steps suggested by experts- 

1.      Research

2.      Plan

3.      Design

4.      Develop

5.   Launch

Step-1: Research

Discover 6 basic questions about the project which are what, why, when, where, who and how. In addition, list all the objectives. 

·         Set Goals- Now this is the time to set the goals and time limit. Determine the time limit of different goals on site and of site, so that later you would be able to judge the status of the project.

·         Competitive Analysis- You can take inspiration from similar websites, which are available in your previous projects list, or from the websites, which are available on the internet. You can also find the case studies or white papers of such types of websites would be best. 

·         Select The Target Users- Now you should select the target audience and research about the user interest. This is the most important thing that any client would like to see in his website. 

·          List The Resources- Collect all the resources or the things you will need in this project. You should make sure that you have all the things, which need to design the website.

·         Consider Other’s Views- Listen to your team, colleagues, or juniors. Give value to everyone’s opinion. Then take the decision to pursue anything.

Step-2: Plan

·         Decide The Responsibilities- Decide the work and responsibilities of individuals. Therefore, everyone should understand his responsibility.

·          Make The Structure: This crucial thing should be considered before making any website. List all the pages that are to be included in the website. Then make a basic structure of the homepage.

http://www.netmds.com

This is only an example you can make a visual representation according to your viewpoint. Therefore, that whole the team would understand the how the website would look like.

Step-3: Design

·         Brainstorm the Ideas: Visualize the designs in your mind and now create a rough idea on a page or you can make graphic designs.

·         Follow the Principles: Keep all the principles in your mind. These basic principles are-

-Stay focused in your work

-Remember the basic things

-Keep the identity of the brand

-Do not try to stretch the brand

-Refresh the brand

·         Obtain Feedback: In this step pull all the stakeholders back in and find all the defects and correct them. Now revise all the things and make sure that everything is going according to plan.

Step-4: Develop

·         Code HTML and CSS Markup: In the process of developing first of all develop a core shell. You must follow the basic web standards and semantics. In addition, for the simplicity in future keep your code in order.

·         Develop application: After making code you can start making applications. One of the most complicated things in a web design is making application. Therefore, for this you should plane ahead and stay agile.

·         Add Third Party Integration: Add a third party applications and scripts like Google Maps, Chat box, Google analytics, plug-in etc. This will enhance features of the website. 

·         Responsive Design:  Keep the website design accessible for all the screens like mobile, desktop, iPod etc. This is a required thing in a website now a days, because every wants that his products will be reached to more and more users. 

·         Trends- Also, keep all the trends in mind like big images, background video, responsive design etc. 

·         Test and Validate-Test your code in different types of browsers and devices to assure that the website 
 is browser compatible and responsive. If there is any error, then correct it first and move ahead. 

·         Hosting and Launch- This is the final step of website from back end. In this step, you should follow all the technical guidelines before hosting the website, proper configuration and check all the issues. 

Step-5: Launch

Now the day comes to celebrate at this time your website going to live. In this step, there are many crucial things, which are ignored by most of the website developers.

·         Provide training: Train the website manager and answer all the questions. Tell him every point and feature of website. In addition, do not forget to give him a future reference. 

·         Maintain the Website: Keep the content up to date. Make sure that the user is able to access every piece of content in the website. 

·         Start Promotion: Now time comes to make the website popular. This needs a proper marketing strategy including both aspects internet marketing and offline marketing.

·         Measure Progress: In this step continuously watch the analytic and try track the user experience on the website. In addition, try your best to improve the Improve the performance of website.