The Development Process

An important part of working with us is to understand the steps we follow to design your site. You'll know at any point in time just how far along your project is, when you can expect its completion, and be ready with any additional materials we may need from you so that there are no delays in the development timeline.

We design and develop your site using the latest in website design tools and development technologies, and code according to current W3C standards. Why is this important? In the ever-changing world of the internet there is a core set of supported standards that most common browsers comply with and new display technologies are designed to accomodate. Developing to these standards insures that your site will be usable on the highest percentage of the many different computers and browsers in use today—and tomorrow. Changes can be made quickly and economically, with no disruption in the operation of the site.

The adherence to a standardized timeline in the the development of the site minimizes any bends in the road to getting your website up on the net and running. There are fewer surprises and fewer delays because of missing certificates, accounts, etc.

The Basic Process:

Information Gathering—Step One

• Interview. An initial interview (in person, by phone, e-mail or instant messaging or a combination of all) to determine::
  • the specific objectives of the project
  • an understanding of your business
  • the products and/or services you market
  • your target audience
• Competitive research. We'll research your competition—determine their strengths and weaknesses so we can construct strategies to counteract the strengths and take advantage of the weaknesses.
• Model a typical customer. We'll use this information to tailor graphic elements as well as technological features.
• Proposal. Use the information we've gathered to develop a project proposal, which gives specifics of the objectives, target market, challenges and solutions, budget and development timeline.

Development—Step Two

The activities involved in this stage of development are not sequential; that is, we may be working on several areas simultaneously:

• Graphical assets. You'll provide us with company logos, photographs, etc.
• Content development. We'll draft an overall site plan, i.e. what goes where, and determine if professional copywriting is necessary.
• Back-end programming . This process sets up shopping carts, contact databases, and CMS elements of the site.
• Graphic design. Based on what we've learned in the Information Gathering stage, we'll begin working on the graphical design of the project. This involves the look and 'feel' of the site, navigational elements, graphics and imagery, and page layout. You'll be presented with 2 preliminary designs, with detailed design notes outlining the reasoning behind each design.
• Approval and monitoring. After the basic design has been approved and the content established, the site will be posted to our development server. You will be able to log onto the server to monitor your project's progress via our password-protected client area.
• Revisions. When the site is nearing completion, you will be allowed the opportunity for one round of revisions, if necessary.

Publication—Step Three

• Testing. Completion of thorough testing of the site mechanics: links, specialised programming, database operations, e-commerce setup, etc.
• Hosting. Acquisition and setup of your hosting account
• Deploy. Actual publishing of the site to your server and performing final testing procedures