The Five “D” of Web Deving

The Web Dev Roadmap with SoCal HiTech

Step 1: Discussion

Discussion with the client is perhaps the most important part of the development process as it is through these conversations that the foundations of your future website are laid. Important topics that need to be worked out include:

• Purpose – What is the purpose/function of the site? It is important to work out the purpose of the site so focus of the project is never lost as we progress.
• Style – What sort of overarching style or theme do you want to follow?
  Clean and Simple, Corporate, Grunge, Urban, Web 2.0, etc.
• Design – Concerning page layout and design how do you want it laid out?
  Header (Yes/No) Footer (Yes/No) Navigation (Top, Left, or Right) Columns ( 1, 2 or 3)
  Anything particular you want incorporated into each design section?
• Color – What color pallet do you want? Any specific colors you want incorporated? How about a general theme? (Dark, White, Blue Hues, Plaid, etc.)
• Ideas – What sort of ideas do you have for the site? What else is important to you?
• Time Frame – When would you need it done? It is important to least discuss a timeframe so goals can be set and milestones set for the project roadmap.

Step 2: Drafting

Example of a Draft Page

Before any actual coding is done samples and rough outlines are drafted in Adobe Fireworks and Photoshop. With the website drafted as a multi-layered image the client can look at different possibilities and things concerning color, style, and design choices can be changed on-the fly without coding and the results can be seen immediately.

This is an important feedback step where ideas can be refined and the client can make sure the website matches their vision before too much work has been done. Once a rough draft is approved by the client the real work begins in Step 3. If you want any last minute changes this is the step you want to voice them in before Step 3 is reached.

Step 3: Development

Once the design is draft finalized the real work for the web developer begins. This is where all the programming is done and a flat image is converted into a full website or in our case a PHP driven Wordpress Template. This is also the stage where the graphics drafted earlier in Step 2 are further refined and what once was a rough outline is polished and made pretty.

You can actually track progress live as part of step 4.

Step 4: Demonstration

Throughout development a live demo of the theme will be available for inspection throughout the development process on my development server so progress can be tracked and the template inspected. It is important to note that anything in the live demo is of course still under development and open to change. The demo also it may not be the latest version as local copies are being worked on they may not have been uploaded yet and the changes synced.

You can still voice changes during this step but for the sake of cost/time overruns try to avoid major overhauls too late in the development process.

Step 5: Done!

Yay! Your website is now complete. It will be submitted for final approval but for the most part your website will be done.