Development Process
Many clients have asked us how the process actually works and what happens throughout the website development. This document explains the process from start to finish and gives you an idea of what you could expect when working with us.
This is just a guideline; your development project may have needs that are not addressed here.
Project Phases
- Decision / Planning
- Graphic Design
- Website Development / Coding
- Testing
- Website Launch
- Project Completion
Decision / Planning Phase
Based on the information you provided when requesting your website design quote, we attempt to determine your needs, what you are expecting from your website, and try to get a feel for your industry. This is why it is important for you to be as detailed as possible when requesting your quote.
We may have questions for you to help clarify certain issues and we will express those before quoting on your project. If we believe that your website development project could benefit from our services and skills, we will quote you on your project.
Once we have come to an agreement on project details, timeline and price, we will prepare a website development contract for you to review & acknowledge.
The signed contract and 50% deposit is required before we schedule a time slot for your project. The remainder of your balance will be due upon project completion.
Graphic Design Phase
You will need to let us know the navigation links you would like (such as home, about us, services, etc) and supply all text and/or product information to be included on your site. In addition, you may also supply material such as company logo, personal photos, etc, if desired.
If you have any guide sites you would like us to refer to when designing your site or if you have any preference as to colors, style, etc please offer that information as well.
For E-Commerce sites that require us to enter products for you, we will need you to supply an Excel spread sheet listing the following: Product Name, Unique Product ID Number (if any), Product Description, Options (if any – size, color, etc), Price, Approximate Weight, Number in Stock, as well as the product photos named in correspondence with the Product ID Number on the spread sheet.
Ideally, all of the above information should be supplied prior to us getting started.
Work will commence on your scheduled start date. The project manager in charge of your project will contact you on that day to confirm that we are getting started.
We will provide three possible custom designed home page concepts for your project. In most cases, we will be able to provide these designs within 3-5 business days following your start date.
After you have reviewed the designs and decided which one you would like to use, we will continue to make modifications to the design until the final desired look is achieved. Once the final desired look is achieved, we will create the interior page layout, convert the design to HTML, add programming, etc.
We establish a private directory for your new website on our testing server so that you may view the website development progress at any time. In addition, your project manager will inform you via email when extensive updates to the site have been made so you can review the most recent progress.
Stock Photography
All projects include use of professional stock photography images from our current collection to help establish site theme, if needed.
Website Development / Coding Phase
All website development programming/coding to run any special features/visitor interactivity on your website is completed and tested.
Based upon your contract and the final design you selected, we create as many static or dynamic pages as needed to complete your site.
Navigation links or drop down menus, and rollover effects, if desired, are completed.
Creation of a site map page is done which includes easy one-click access to all pages of your site.
Incorporation of your logo, photos and text content is included in all projects. Custom logo design is available for an additional fee, please enquire if interested.
CSS Stylesheets are used to define font faces, styles, sizes and colors for consistency throughout the site.
Contact Forms
We always recommend at least one contact form for your visitor’s convenience. Using a contact form, a visitor can email you directly from your website without needing to open their email program. This is especially convenient if a visitor is not using their own computer when their email program is not available.
Testing Phase
Meta Tags, Page Titles, Page Heading, Alt Image Tags, Link Text, and Page Body Text evaluation and adjustment where needed throughout the website. At no time can we guarantee when or where the search engines will place your website within their search results or directory.
Your website is tested on a variety of operating systems and browsers to insure proper display and functionality.
Before the website is launched, a grammar and spell check is performed to insure there are no mistakes.
A thorough check for misdirected links and missing files is performed just prior to as well as after the launch of the website.
Any email contact forms and/or programming features included in your project are tested to confirm they are functioning as required.
Launch Phase
Final payment is always due before we take the website live on your domain. Upon receipt of final payment, you will be emailed a final/paid in full receipt.
All necessary website files and scripts are copied to your domain and databases are setup.
After the website is live, any interactive programming and scripts are tested to verify proper function. Since the design and testing phase often occurs on a different server, it is very important to once again verify that everything is working correctly after taking the website live.
After launch and testing of the website, you are provided with a zipped archive of all website files.
When necessary, any documentation needed to use the administration functions of your hosting account (when hosting with us) and/or the optional programs included is supplied in PDF format (optional paid service).
Completion Phase
Minor adjustments to the website are included at no charge for up to two weeks after the website has launched (maximum of up to 3 hours labor). Minor changes include adding changing text, adding or changing photos, etc. Any major revision requests will require additional discussion and possibly incur a fee.