Stages of website development from A to Z

Regardless of how large and informative the site will be, it is necessary to competently and responsibly treat its creation. Website Development Stages The initial stages involve planning and defining a strategy. It is also necessary to pay attention to additional features of web programming. Therefore, for a successful and effective result in the form of a quality page, it is worth considering all the stages and stages of website development.

The content of the article

1. Site Planning
2. Choosing a contractor
3. Niche and Topic Analysis
4. Website strategy
5. Creation of terms of reference
6. Website prototype
7. Website layout design creation
8. Website layout
9. Website programming
10. Filling the site with content
11. Testing
12. Technical support
13. Site optimization
14. Conclusion

Site Planning

Planning the site structure, its design and content is the most important step towards a quality product. The main problem of failed projects is the lack of a planning system. Thanks to it, you can save time and effort while creating web pages.

Before creating a plan for the site and its promotion, it is worth finding answers to such questions:

• What is the purpose of website development?
• What content will be published on it?
• What ways of interacting with the audience should be provided?

An accurate understanding of the answers to these questions will allow you to focus on designing the structure of the web page and its design. Before you start spending your resource on the direct creation of a product, you need to accurately understand its intended purpose and plan for any monetary or time costs.

Choosing a contractor

In order for the site to work successfully and bring returns, it needs customers. Sooner or later, the owner is faced with the need to promote a web page and attract an audience. To perform such work, a contractor is needed, which can be a freelancer or a specialized company.

Site contractor selection criteria

• Page specialization. The contractor must specialize in the type of work that he provides. In order to increase activity on the page and attract potential users, he needs to understand the type of services that the site provides: what is the purpose of the site, what does the page offer, how to interact with the audience.
• Portfolio and reputation. Before you start working with a contractor, you need to study the experience of his work and their success. To do this, you should familiarize yourself with the portfolio of a future employee.
• Contacts and drawing up a cooperation agreement. It is worth paying attention to how long and in what tone the contractor answers. Punctuality and respect are the key to stable business relationships. In addition, it is important to take into account the preparation of a formal cooperation agreement. This document is a legal guarantee of the responsibility of both parties.

Niche and Topic Analysis

After a plan for the creation and development of the site has been drawn up, contacts have been established with the contractor, it is necessary to carefully analyze the target audience of the page, the level of competitiveness and the characteristics of the chosen niche. You need to understand your audience, its needs and desires. Then the site can be adapted to customers and develop relationships with them. Therefore, it is worth analyzing and understanding:

• What does the target audience need?
• What will be interesting and useful for customers?
• What methods of determining the target audience is better to use?
• What channels of communication and communication are more convenient to use?

Website strategy

The website strategy is a certain way to achieve the goal. And it is important that every step of this path is considered.

The strategic process of developing a site includes drawing up an individual action plan aimed at improving the result. It should provide for and calculate possible losses, alternative steps and the dynamics of numerical and qualitative indicators.

The strategy can take different directions:

• Direct sales
• Building relationships with clients
• Product quality improvement
• Product presentation
• Informing the audience
• Increasing company awareness

Creation of terms of reference

Development of terms of reference for the creation of a website is as important a step as planning. Here you can not make mistakes and errors, even minor ones. Any oversight can aggravate the situation and delay the development of the web page. This task includes all the features and requirements for the finished product (its navigation, the ability to work, taking into account competition, strategies and audience analysis).

The quality of the terms of reference for the development of the site depends on planning, analysis and strategy. Its features include:

• Detailing. All wishes and requirements for a specialist must be indicated in the task. It is necessary to describe in detail all the nuances and comments, even if you are working with a professional.
• Accuracy. Any vague concepts or inaccuracies will lead to disagreements between the customer and the contractor. In the terms of reference, it is necessary to indicate what exactly needs to be done and how. The specialist must receive clear instructions and follow them clearly. This is a guarantee of a finished product that will satisfy both parties.
• Clarity. The language of the task must be understandable to the specialist who performs it. Any abbreviations or vague terms are not allowed. The performer should not ask again about the essence of the task, not knowing what is required of him.

Website prototype

Before the launch of the site, its prototype is being developed. It allows you to see the finished page in action and identify its imperfections. Creation of a site prototype is one of the most important points, since at this stage the design and navigation of the web page are tested.

It is important that the navigation of the finished site is convenient and understandable. Its visitor should easily navigate between tabs and information blocks on an intuitive level. All necessary elements (for example, contact information, or a menu with a list of services) should be placed taking into account the psychology and perception of potential customers. Therefore, the designer should correctly place information blocks or graphic images on the page.

Website layout design creation

Creating a site layout design includes a visual component, which is perceived in the first place. Here it is important to consider:

• Colors
• Animations
• Forms
• Fonts
• Shades
• Image Harmony

The site designer pays attention to these criteria, placing the brand logo on the page, working on its recognition and quality. The appearance of the site should be modern and pleasing to the eye, so that there is no desire to leave the page as soon as you open it. Developing a site layout design allows you to create a suitable design and make your own adjustments if necessary.

Website layout

After agreeing on the design and structure of the web resource with the customer, the next stage begins - layout of the site according to the layout. To do this, the specialist translates the original product into an HTML page. This procedure allows the site to adapt to any screen extension and browser from which it is opened.

With adaptive layout of the site, the accuracy of all data is of particular importance. The fact is that it is easier to correct errors in the layout of the site and its design at the right time than to make changes to the HTML version. Here the burden of responsibility rests with the customer. The approval of the finished layout of the site for layout depends on it. The more actively he communicates with a specialist, making his own requirements and adjustments, the better the product he will receive.

Website programming

Website programming is the process of combining the results of all stages of creating a web page and bringing the developed project to life. If the designer determines the appearance of the resource, the layout designer works on its adaptation, then the programmer launches this system into action. It is he who works to ensure that all buttons on the page are pressed, links are active and the user can click to go where he needs to.

Website programming can be done using certain programming languages:

• JavaScript
• PHP
• Python
• Java

This process can be considered in more detail on the example of button activation. Let's say a designer creates a specific key on a page. It has the appropriate shape, color and contains the necessary inscription. An HTML specialist translates all these features into a layout language. And only the programmer activates the provided button. Thanks to this, it works and performs its functions (redirecting the user, opening the appropriate windows or providing access to the necessary information).

Filling the site with content

Filling the site with content allows you to keep the attention of the audience and develop the web page. Information on the site should be relevant, useful and updated. In addition to content, it is important to consider the design of the text. The specialist is responsible for its location on the page, ease of perception and literacy.

Materials for the site are prepared in advance, taking into account all the features of the content and presentation. The preparation of text content can be engaged in:

• Copywriters. These employees perform technical assignments and specialize in writing sales copy. They know all the ins and outs of writing quality articles for commercial and corporate websites.
• Web page owner. Only he knows about all the features of the services or products published on the site. The owner can be engaged in filling the site with goods and their description.
• Any employees who understand the intricacies of compiling text documents that can be succinctly submitted on the page.

Work with content does not end with writing texts. Any page requires stable and regular updates. Otherwise, bots looking for links will bypass this site due to outdated information. In addition, the target audience should be interested in the product that the site offers.

Testing

All stages of website development are subject to mandatory testing. It allows you to determine how well and stably the project works. This process can be carried out on different Internet sites using certain programs.

The modern world of the web industry provides for the following types of site testing:

• Functional testing
• Layout testing
• Website security testing
• Interface quality testing
• Website load testing
• Performance Testing
• Usability testing
• Testing the mobile version of the site

During this stage of page creation, all inaccuracies and project errors are detected and eliminated - lost links, navigation violations, incorrect text, etc. After the final testing and elimination of all faults, the site layout is transferred to the Internet to the appropriate address link.

And even after that, the web page is tested. Thanks to this, the finished product is of high quality and ease of use.

Technical support

Before the start of the site, specialists open the admin panel. This tool allows you to maintain a web page and control its operation. Technical support of the site that includes:

• Establishment of round-the-clock work
• Site information service
• Adding new features
• Making adjustments to the layout and design of the page
• Communication with visitors and provider
• Troubleshooting
• Creating an email address and parsing mail

After establishing a technical support system, the site owner can publish information on it, make adjustments, place products, describe services, and collect information for analytical research.

Support staff solve any problems or questions related to the functioning of the site.

Site optimization

Internal website optimization – is a set of actions and procedures that improve the ranking of a page in search engines.

Varieties of internal optimization

• Technical - improving the stability of the site, improving technical performance, speed of access to search bots.
• Text - improving published texts, ensuring audience interest in text content, working on formats and fonts
• Usability - improving interaction with the audience, studying user behavior, their expectations from the information received, adapting the site for mobile devices for the convenience of customers, increasing the speed of clicking on links and loading pages.

Thanks to optimization, website traffic increases, as a result, promotion accelerates.

Internal optimization determines the readiness of web pages for users to visit. It includes:

• Presence of encoding errors
• Content quality
• Quantity and balance of graphics and text material
• Heading spelling
• The quality of service pages
• Adaptation for various extensions

Conclusion

Website development –is a complex and time-consuming process that requires attention, time and effort. To get the highest quality result, it is necessary to take into account all the stages of creating a page: planning, analysis, target audience definition, programming, testing and optimization.

These features are important for creating online stores, studios or educational resources. In order for the finished site to be successful, it is necessary to attract professional employees for its development: designers, programmers, copywriters. In addition, the stage of control of all stages of creating Internet pages is important.

To save your own time and effort, as well as not to scatter your attention on control over hired workers, you can use the services of a web studio in Kyiv. So you can entrust the creation of an entire product to one company.

Companies development website, have the necessary cases, labor resources and experience, which is necessary to achieve the desired result. When determining, how to choose a web studio, it is worth considering customer reviews and the company's competitiveness in the market.