Web Development Process – A 6 Step Website Design Guide
Are you a startup looking for an active online presence?
Do you want to make money by selling products online?
You’ve decided to build your business website, but you do not know how to get started to give shape to your ideas.
You conduct some online research and come across several website design and development companies locally.
You contact a few and try to understand the entire web development process.
Expert professionals can help you understand the process of graphic design and web development.
Different website designers and developers offer different solutions and explanations for web development.
You get confused with the steps followed by different agencies for developing websites , and you look for a specific process that can help you achieve your business goals.
Well, every website development company would have different tactics to build a site.
We’ve listed the design and web development process for helping you understand how website designs are created.
1 – Understanding clients’ requirements
This is the first critical step for designing.
The web design team collects information from the clients and analyses it.
Graphic designers may ask questions to clarify the doubts while some others may send a questionnaire to the clients to understand the exact requirements.
Keeping in mind the clients’ business goals and objectives, they provide an estimate for the time and cost.
Expert web designers would consider the following:
- Purpose of the website
- Business goals
- Service offerings
- Target audience
- Content
The professionals may ask questions to the clients and collect all the information before providing an estimate.
Make sure that you explain your exact requirements and business goals to the designers so that they can start working on your project.
Once they have all the clients’ requirements, they would plan the web development project.
2 – Sketches and Wireframes
Designing a website is more or less like building a house.
You create a rough layout, and then you start building your house.
Before developing a website, the designers create a rough sketch of the visual layout.
They show the basic ideas with the help of wireframe to make the client understand how the design would look.
Sketches may be hand-drawn to explain the concepts and layouts of the website design.
Several tools can be used to create the wireframes of a web design project.
Based on their research, they start with wireframes to get a clear picture of the navigation of the site.
The wireframes show the placement of different elements on a page.
Once the blueprint is finalised, the web design commences.
Good web designers keep in mind how coding would take place and create the best wireframes for the web design.
The target audience should be kept in mind while designing a wireframe.
For instance, an educational website should be designed for the right age groups of children as well as parents.
The design should be focused on strengthening the identity of the company.
3 – Design mockups
Instead of jumping to the design step, the expert graphic designers create a plan for the website design as per the clients’ requirements.
Making use of graphic design software and tools, the designers create attractive design mockups for logos, different elements required on web pages, icons, buttons, web pages and more.
All the elements such as the logo design , header, buttons, widgets and others are placed as per the web page design requirements.
The placement concerning the live page is decided upon during this phase.
Some designers provide multiple design mockups so that clients can choose the best one according to their exact requirements.
Keeping in mind the target audience, the designs are created to improve the online identity of the company.
Ask the professionals how many design mockups for the home page and inner pages would be delivered.
Clients should ask about the timeframe also while deciding upon hiring the best web design firm .
This phase would include logo design, brochure design, leaflet design, button design, and other stationery design also.
All the elements for online and offline branding would be covered in this phase.
4 – Development
Once the design is approved, the frontend developers would take all the graphic designs and use them for creating a functional website.
The home page is created along with the inner pages to decide the navigational structure of the website.
Elements like a content management system (CMS), interactive forms, or shopping carts are implemented to build functional websites.
CMS is implemented in this phase, and after that, the coding starts.
The coders would add the required functionality to your website during this phase.
They would install the CMS and customise it to match your exact business requirements.
The required plugins and extensions would be installed to add the desired features to your store.
They would create the forms for your site too.
5 – Testing and delivery
Before your website is published, you would need to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Expert web development agencies have a dedicated QA team to test the website and ensure that there are no bugs in it.
The complete functionality of the website would be checked before it is made live.
The website compatibility would also be checked with different web browsers and mobile devices.
Once the testing is completed, the website is transferred to the client’s live server and can be accessed using the client’s domain name.
6 – Support and Maintenance
Once your website development is completed and the site goes live, you would need support and maintenance services to ensure that it works well.
Some agencies offer monthly or annual packages for website support and maintenance services.
You can choose the best package to ensure that your site is up and up-to-date all the time.
You’d be able to save much money by opting for a long term website maintenance plan.
All the above 6 points are to be followed by any good web designer and developer to create an outstanding website.
A little research can help you get the website you always dreamt of.
You need to be involved in every step of the web development process.
Make sure that you hire a website development agency that maintains complete transparency with the clients and keeps them informed about the progress of the project.
Find out what reporting methods are used by the web design and development agency you’re planning to hire.
How to hire the best web development company for your project?
There are many website development companies to choose from.
You should conduct research online and choose to hire experienced professionals for your next project.
Not all companies would charge the same cost for graphics design and web development.
Talk to a few agencies and compare their prices before making the decision.
You cannot hire the first company you come across over the internet.
Check out the portfolio before hiring an agency for web development services.
Ask as many questions as you want and clarify your doubts.
Hire freelancers or a web design agency?
Some business owners get tempted to hire freelancers for their web development project as they think that they’ll be able to save money with that.
It can be a risky option and you may end up losing your hard-earned money by doing so.
The freelancer you hire may leave your project in the middle of development and run away with your money.
Freelancers and agencies would have different capabilities.
It is always a safer option to hire an experienced agency for web design and development projects.
You would have access to expert designers, developers, business analysts, QA professionals, and marketing professionals working under one roof.
When you choose the best web development agency, you would be getting a full team working for your project.
You can be assured that all the aspects of web development would be covered by the web development firm you hire.
Get quotes from a few companies and compare them.
It is important that you get the best value for the money you spend.
You need to check what kind of customer support is provided by the service providers.
Check their availability and make sure that they are available to answer your queries and provide a prompt response.
Don’t hesitate to ask how many projects have they worked on in the past.
Get client references and contact them if you want to be fully satisfied before hiring an agency for web development services.
Wrap Up
Are you ready for a website design ?
Start looking for an expert web development agency to help you convert your vision into a reality.
Whether you want to design a new website from scratch or redesign an existing site, make sure that you hire reputed and reliable company for your project.
A little research online will help you get cost-effective web development solutions and help you achieve your business goals easily.
If you want an attractive, eye-catchy website matching your business goals, you should spend some time to talk to a few expert professionals and hire the best one who has huge expertise in the web development industry.
Author Bio: Kristy Davis is a Marketing Manager at i-Verve Inc, an innovative Magento Development Company for web and mobile platforms. She is responsible for communication, marketing and business development of the company. Apart from the responsibility of strategic business development, she looks after branding, media relations, and advertising. Kristy also directs and manages sponsorships, marketing training, and events in the company. She has been involved in various high profile roles in the marketing industry. When she is not making any magic at her desk, you’re likely to find her exploring nature, eating her way through Lakeview, and Wrigleyville’s finest cuisine and its surrounding suburbs or taking a drive along the Western Avenue. Her camera rarely leaves her side.
Very helpful. Thank you for sharing!
I don’t agree with the part about freelancer vs agency. I may be bias, but a freelancer, a professional one anyway, if qualified to do so in terms of their skills, can do just as well as an agency.
I agree completely. You just have to vet the freelancer you’re thinking of hiring carefully – but I’d say that’s also true of an agency you’re thinking of hiring too. Just because it’s an agency doesn’t mean it’s good!