8 stages of website development

One question I often get from people looking to start a career in web design or online marketing is how they should go about planning and executing their first website project 0

When it comes to building your own website, many people find themselves wondering what they should do first. This article will take you through the process of setting up a website in 8 easy steps - because it really isn't as difficult as it may seem

8 stages of website development

1) Defining the Focus

2) Features of the website.

3) Schedule the website’s primary section

4) Outline content and write

5) Website building .

6) Build the website.

7) Review the website 

8) Launch a website 

Defining the Focus

It is important to define this step before starting anything else. Think about what you want your website to be about, why someone would come back again and again. For example:

A web store. Information hub for established clients. Branding website

Features of the website

This is where you describe the specific features that you plan to implement. For example:

A shopping cart for an online store.

A password-protected section of the website.

The more detail here, the better

Schedule the website’s primary section

With the first two steps completed, you're now ready to get started on mapping out the major sections of the website. It's helpful to sketch out quick diagrams of these sections- it will help you understand how they all fit together and relate to one another.

Outline content and write

All websites rely on quality content to make them effective and successful. So, this part of the process is arguably the most important, which means you need to pay close attention to it

Plan a website style 

Now it’s time to find a style for your website. Start looking at the visual aspect of it – there are three options:

Hire an experienced graphic designer or web designer.

Design it yourself, if you have design experience. Or buy a simple webpage template, which will save you time and money

Website building 

Start building the website at this point! If you've answered all of these questions and followed these steps, then you'll find it easy to build the site - actually write out the code- and reduce the chance that you'll need to go back and redo anything.

Review the website 

Once you've finished building the website, step away from it for one or two days. This will give you enough time to come back and review it with fresh eyes. It may also be a good idea to ask another person without knowledge of your work on the site to take a look too.

Here are some of the things we should look for:

Clean easy-to-update design/structure.

Good Usability in the design - and all that entails.

Fast Loading ‘light’ pages.

Intelligent use of technology – using Flash when needed; not just because we think that would make an awesome intro! The website’s ability to convey its message quickly even if not instantly

For example 

For digital marketing and web development purposes, we need to check if all of the tools are working correctly before launching

 Launch a website 

Now you're ready to show the world your website.:

You can also register a domain and find a hosting company after completing the first four steps. It often makes sense to register your domain name before designing the website - this is because you may want to integrate it into the design.

Conclusion

If you follow these steps, and don't let pressure from your clients sway you - or anything else - then you'll find yourself working more quickly and under less stress, while delivering a better website for your client