A huge subject in itself so I’ve decided just to outline the three main sections:
Graphical Design (how its going to look) – one of the most important areas of the development process: You can have as much or as little involvement in the design process as you like. I will always try to find as much from you as possible in order to deliver what you really want irrelevant of how big or small the web site:
Hopefully you get the idea – basically the more input I get from you the better the end result.
Having said that the web site design process can be a lengthy one as it is always best to get the design completely to your liking before starting to develop the web site as changing the design whilst in development can really start to stretch the project out (which is no good for any of us!).
The web site structure – Although usually covered in the proposal I like to finalise and sign off the structure of the site. This is the final number of pages the site will have, page names, categories & sub categories, navigation etc. This is not to say you can’t change your mind if we’ve forgotten something but it will give me a structure to work to.
What types of sites do I cater for?
Basically a site is never too large or small and is always approached in the same way.
I won’t bore you with the technical bits (unless you want to know in which case please ask me). The development stage is usually performed on a ‘test site’ which means it won’t be available to the public but allows you to view the progress of the web site development as it happens. When functional areas are ready to test you can them test them whilst I’m working on other areas and make comments & adjustments where necessary (keeps us all busy!).
Everyone has their own preference but mine is currently ASP (Active Server Pages). In all the experience I’ve had I’ve always been proud to say ‘anything’s possible’ when it comes to developing a website and so far I’ve never been let down. The core elements I will incorporate into websites are (not an exhaustive list):
Trying not to sound like a broken record – your website is only any good if it gets found by those you want to use it. The subject of SEO (Search Engine Marketing) is vast and changes very fast (even faster if you talk to a lot of different people about it) but the basics of ‘Good Practice’ when developing a website no matter how big or small. SEO is taken into consideration with every page;
Further to the standard practices there are other levels of service which we can discuss if required and they all depend on a few factors:
In some cases websites need to develop marketing plans to really keep them on top and that’s a discussion topic you would have to bring up if you felt it necessary. Yes the online world is fast, furious and very competitive sometimes but that’s why I love it and get pure pleasure from seeing web sites I’ve developed rank.
As any developer will tell you the testing of a website can be the most time consuming part and in some cases can take longer than the actual development!
In short the elements of a site which are fully tested before deployment are:
Validation checks (HTML, CSS and any other specific checks necessary)
Web Browser testing – to make sure the site is displaying in all the major browsers properly (this includes current version and at least two earlier versions where possible; IE, Firefox, Opera, Netscape Navigator) If you have any specific browsers you would like the site to be tested on please let me know.
Security testing – with sites utilising databases, especially these days, it is imperative that the correct security measures are in place to minimise (eradicate where possible) the chance of a malicious attack especially ‘Cross Site Scripting’ & ‘SQL Injections’. I take this very seriously and am always updating my methods to try to keep ahead of the game so to speak.
Site loading times – although current times have dictated that this is almost irrelevant with broadband speeds getting faster and faster it is worth checking the time it takes for pages of a site to load in different browsers, especially when the site is particularly graphical.
That’s where the fun really starts – you’ll need to look at the section ‘Making your Website work & Getting it found’.
