Building a website can be intimidating. You’ve got to find the right developer, decide what features and content it should include, and then make sure that it all looks professional and works properly.
You can always get help from a software development company to help you build one from scratch. Still, it’s like a complicated puzzle – one wrong move could ruin everything!
But don’t worry. If you break down the process into stages, things become much simpler. Here are the seven stages of website development that you should know.
Stage 1. Concept Development
Concept development is the process of laying the foundations of your website. These include:
- Overall look and feel of the site
- Content to include
- Functionality
It is also the best time to decide who makes the team. This includes the developers, designers, content creators, and others who will focus on this project until the end.
Without a well-developed plan, it would be very easy for the various parts of the website to clash with one another, resulting in a confusing and frustrating user experience. By taking the time to develop a strong concept for your website, you can avoid these problems and create a site that is both beautiful and easy to use.
Stage 2. Wireframing
Wireframing is the process of creating a visual representation of your website. It allows developers to see how different elements will fit together and allows them to adjust the layout before any coding has begun.
By wireframing first, you can avoid costly changes down the line. It also makes it much easier to determine how user-friendly your website will be and make sure that the developers are on the same page as you.
Stage 3. Design
Now it’s time to get creative! This stage involves designing a visual representation of your website using colors, fonts, images, and other elements that reflect your brand identity.
The design phase also ensures that all elements are visually pleasing and look great across multiple devices.
Some of the essential to-dos include:
- Creating a logo
- Choosing colors and fonts
- Designing layouts for each page
- Adding custom graphics or illustrations
- Creating pages according to the different UX principles
This phase takes some time to complete because of the many back-and-forths between the designer and other team members. It might help to set up a centralized communication hub, such as a project management system, to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Stage 4. Content Creation
At this stage, you create any text or multimedia content you want to include on the site, such as “About Us” or “Contact Us.” You might also collect or produce images or videos representing your brand message.
Although it is a separate stage, it can also run simultaneously with website design for the following reasons:
- Usually, another department, not software development, takes care of it. One example is digital marketing.
- Content is easier to adjust, depending on the website design and message.
- Content creation usually takes the most time out of all stages because it involves finding the right words to describe your brand.
You can lessen the revisions and adjustments by ensuring that the writer and designer communicate often. Before each phase, schedule a meeting between the two of them to address issues and concerns beforehand.
Stage 5. Coding
The developers will take all the design elements, content, and functionalities from the previous stages and turn them into a functioning website.
You might also implement SEO techniques at this stage to ensure that search engines can find your site easily. Some essential steps to take include creating sitemaps and using relevant keywords throughout the website.
The coding process usually takes less than a month if your design is not complex, everything else is ready, and you have a team whether in-house or outsourced.
Stage 6. Testing
The testing phase allows you to review the website for any potential bugs or other issues that might have slipped through coding. This stage also includes user testing, which allows users to provide feedback on the website’s ease of use.
Some of the critical issues to monitor are:
- Site loading speed
- Functionality of forms or other features
- Usability of the navigation
- Layout and responsiveness on mobile devices
- Browser compatibility
- Security and privacy
The testing phase typically takes two weeks or less, depending on how quickly your team can fix any issues found.
Stage 7. Launch
Once you’ve gone through the previous stages and are happy with the results, it’s time to launch! This means making your website live and available to the public.
Before launching, ensure that all elements of your website are working properly and there is no technical issue. Also, double-check all links to ensure they are pointing to the right pages or locations.
Some additional steps include setting up analytics, submitting your site to search engines, and optimizing it for SEO.
Conclusion
Developing a successful website takes patience, attention to detail, and an experienced team who understands each step in the process from start to finish. By following these seven stages correctly – from concept development through launch day – you can ensure success with minimal stress at each step along the way!
