Web Development Methodology

Throughout my years of web development experience, I have discovered a series of checkpoints, or steps, required to effectively and efficiently complete a website. Those steps are breifly described below.

Step 1: Design the Content Model

Establish an optimal structure for information provided on the website. Key items to identify are the following: What is the purpose of the website? What are the 'money pages'? Users must be guided to the 'money pages'.

Step 2: Gather Content

The actual text and graphic information for each page of the website must be written and collected. Who writes the content for the business? What type of content does the business already distribute?

Step 3: Establish the Graphic Design

The graphic layout of the website must be established. For the graphic designer, input from the web developer proves helpful.

Step 4: Develop Web Pages

Each web page must be developed using web programming scripts. The web page development process entails a number of details which may be broken down into individual steps. These processes may include the following:

Step 5: Review Website

The website as a whole must be reviewed for usability and effectiveness of displayed content. Business employees are an excellent choice for quick, initial feedback.

Step 6: Implement Revisions

Perform the required updates based on the website review.

* Steps 5 and 6 must be repeated as necessary.

Step 7: Coordinate Social Networks

All associated social networking websites including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the company's blog must be updated to match the look, feel, and atmosphere of the website.

Step 8: Prepare for Launch

Any final content revisions, design modifications, or programming optimization must be executed.

Step 9: Launch Website

The website must become accessible online. This may requiring updating the DNS settings, backing up a previous version of the website, and/or transferring files from the testing server to the live server.

Post Launch Tasks

After the website launch, a number of tasks must be regularly executed. These include the following: