In the website planning and design phase, you'll determine who your target audience is, what they're looking for, and how you'll help them find it easily. The way this information is structured is the information architecture. This phase also includes layout and design, color scheme, navigation, graphics, and other elements of the site's look and feel.
Once this stage is complete, usability testing can provide feedback on how well it meets your goals. Usability testing (or user testing) involves having users who represent your target audience navigate through your website and perform specific tasks. This is often an eye-opening exercise as you find what seems obvious to you is not at all obvious to your users. Performing this early-stage usability testing makes sure you're getting your money's worth.
Your site is built in the website development phase, which includes converting content into HTML and developing interactive features such as forms, email setup, online ordering and connections to backend systems. At this point, a second round of testing is a must. This functionality testing makes sure the applications are working as intended. Links go where they should, and the site functions as planned. Immediately following is implementation, which is taking your site live. Plan on about one full day to complete implementation, and keep in mind that there will most likely be glitches and problems. Work with your developer and your website host to resolve them.
Website Maintenance is a critical and often neglected step in website development. Putting up a website and letting it sit means it quickly becomes outdated (often referred to as a "cobweb site"). As information about your business changes, make sure you update your website. |
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