Five stages of a web project
All web sites go through the following stages while being built, you
might not do all aspects
1. initial stage: introduction, estimating, planning and budget
2. definition stage: defining product/target group /content, structure,
working team
3. design stage: interaction design, functionality, visual design, testing
4. production stage: gathering content (image/sound/text...),
programming, testing, promotion
5. after care: project evaluation, maintenance, growth plans
1. Initial stage
(organisation wants a website)
what do they want?
How soon?
What can we make?
How dear are we?
Proposal + costs estimation
Will we work together?
result: assignment to make a website
2. Definition stage
describing the website
describing the target group
describing the content
structuring content with a flowchart
choosing team members
result: concept which describes the features of the coming website
including a flowchart of the site, roles for team members
2. Definition / describing the site
What is thet aim of the site ?
What are the most important things to communicate?
result: clear aims for website
2. Definition / users analysis
person and context:
How are the users / site visitors?
What do they want to know?
What are their expectations?
Are they experienced internet users or new ones?
Are they at home or work or internet café watching the site ?
users an computers:
How big are the monitors?
Which operating system do they use?
How fast is their connection?
What plugin's do they use?
What browser do they use?
Users profile:
describing a prototype user of the site in a story form: this way you can
keep that person in mind continually while designing the site.
2. definition / content analysis
gathering:
Can we use existing content?
Consider and note all possible information sources
Select and group:
Which information is most important (user)?
Which information is most important (client)?
Action
Select usable information for the website.
Group the information in categories and sub categories (maximal 2
layers)
pointers:
Categorise the information using carefullt chosen criteria. Choice of
category should be driven by the aim fo the site and consideration of
the target group visitor.
structuring and presenting:
Which information will be linked to which other information?
How much will you restrict the visitor of give them freedom?
actions:
Make a flowchart.
pointers:
Users want quick access to information.
result: description of the elements of the site and a flowchart linking
all elements
flowchart: a diagram showing how the content is organised
tree structure:
- no overlapping
- clear
rizoom structure:
- overlaps
- complex
2. definition / teams roles
Who will work on the team?
Who takes which role and responsibility?
Is there experts needed extra to the team?
Example of a team can be:
art-director
designer
illustrator
editor
Example of a team for a bigger site can be:
art-director
project leader
assistant project leader
2 designers
2 editors
programmer
3. design
interaction design
usability
functionality
visual design
testing
'How will I communicate / interact with the use?'
You can sue plain text or image or animation or a combination.
You can present the text in block but also as a dialogue or a question
answer game,
You can give the user information or let him/her search,
In short you have to make choices
3. design / interaction design
How much control has the user?
Can the user change the structure of the site ?
Will the site remain exciting for the user ?
Does the user have to learn something to use the site?
What is the grade of interaction?
Grades of interaction:
Helper: users scenario's
How does the user think, what are the most logical stpes for him / her
to take, develop a navigation structure based on this.
e.g. making tea (step 4 is always the same but step 4 can happen at
any time before step 7, whereas step 2 must always happen before
step 3):
1. get ketel
2. put water in ketel
3. put ketel on fire
4. tea in pot
5. wait till water boils
6. remove ketel from fire
7. put boiling water in tea pot
3. design / usability
Pointers:
• Users want to do not read (help manuals are boring, try to avoid
them).
• Users want to see quickly and easily what they can do and where they
can go).
• Users like having control over going forwards and backwards and
knowing where they are in your site
3. design / functionality
Is there special functions necessary to make the site work
Think about how they should work
e.g. guestbook
3. design / Visual design
Develop in photo shop the look and feel of the site for both the front page
(home page) and content page (inner site pages)
Keep in mind if a flash intro is planned, this design should visually
coordinate with the rest of the site
4. production stage
gathering content (image/sound/text...), programming, testing,
promotion
media production (text, graphics/illustrations/photo's, sound,
animations, video)
programming (HTML, java / javascript, databases)
testing (testing usability, cross platform-browser testing, media testing)
validation (HTML validation, links checken)
promotion (regeister at search engines, etc)
result: website
5. after care:
project evaluation, maintenance, growth plans