DECEMBER14 WEB DESIGN PROCESS

We tend to use “web design” as a shorthand term to describe the entire website production process, which embraces much more than just visual design. I think of web design projects as having four distinct steps or phases:

1. Discover.
2. Design.
3. Develop.
4. Deploy.

In this first phase, I will work with you to discover:

• What are your objectives for the website?
• Who will the users of the website be?
• What will users need or expect of your site?
• Are any special features required?
• Do you, your business or organisation have a “brand identity” that needs to be reflected in the website?
• What tone should the website have? Conservative or modern? Warm or cool? Serious or light-hearted?
• Who are your competitors, and how do you distinguish yourself from them?
• What types of content will be required, and who will be responsible for producing it?
• How will you manage content and maintain the site in future?

Website content

Content — the text, illustrations and so on — that will be presented on your website is its most important component, and it’s essential that we establish what that is going to be, before proceeding with design. Legendary designer Jeffrey Zeldman expressed it neatly in a tweet:

Content informs design. Content affects the layout of pages and the structure and navigation of the site. It isn’t absolutely necessary to have every piece of content already prepared before design begins — a lot can be done in parallel with other stages —  but I do need to know broadly what pages will be required and what they will contain. Otherwise it would be like asking a packaging designer to design a box to put something in, without knowing anything about the thing that is to be put in the box!

Based on what we learned and agreed in the discovery phase, I will advance a visual design for your website, establishing its “look and feel”, page layout, typography, colour palette, navigation… the factors that contribute to the user’s experience of the site.

Once I have agreed upon the design with you, I’ll go on to develop the code that will transform the design into a working website. I will code the site so that:

• It is fast, and will load quickly even over a poor internet connection.
• It is responsive, and will work well whether it is being viewed on a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer; and regardless of the user’s web browser or operating system.
• It is accessible to disabled users, who may use assistive technologies like screen readers or refreshable Braille displays to browse the web.
• It is discoverable by search engines, and may be indexed appropriately by the likes of Google and Bing.

During development, I will perform a number of quality assurance tests, including verifying that the site renders well in leading web browsers. At the end of this phase, you will be able to check out a fully functioning version of the website.

Once I’ve concluded coding the site satisfactorily, I will deploy it to a publicly accessible web server. Not surprisingly, I prefer clients to choose DECEMBER14 web hosting as I know my own servers and the features they have available. But I can install the site on another web host if you prefer, subject to:

• the server having the necessary capability; and
• my being given the necessary access to it.

The site can be unveiled to the public immediately; or if you prefer to delay until a specific launch date, I can do that too.

Yes, this is the fifth of a four-phase process! Of course, after launch, I’ll be pleased to provide ongoing maintenance and support for your website. We can talk terms during the course of the project.

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