Implementing an effective web presence begins with understanding a client's purpose as well as the intended audience. My development process starts here, with an investigation of a client's business.
Before one line of code is punched I want to first gain an understanding of the industry, the competitive climate and what factors impact the sellability of the relevant products or services. Once I've gotten a concept of the fundamental elements that characterize a client's business, it's off to the drawing board.
First - objectives. What is the purpose of the site? Is it a promotional tool? Will it educate? Is it selling something? Who will visit? What presence do competitors have online? All these questions and many more are the factors responsible for dictating exactly how a website will come to life.
Once the fact finding is complete a conceptual map is laid for the project. Content is broken down into categories and sub-categories.
Structure and navigation are flowcharted, dead-ends and redundancy eliminated and then we advance to information schema and design mockups.
If database integration or other data handling such as the consumption of web servies is to occur, then flowcharting will proceed into this section. Information relationships are mapped, reports, forms, fields and content layout identified. If an existing database exists such as customer accounts or product catalogs, the information is obtained and any necessary conversions are performed to prepare it for web deployment.
I typically prepare 2-3 basic design mockups for a client. These are based on existing color schemes, branding & identity. In the case that the branding doesn't already exist, it will be incorporated into the preliminary mockups. Attention is given to size and resolution to ensure quality presentation without being too bandwidth intensive. Designs and any necessary revisions are completed prior to templating.
Now that objectives are identified, flowcharting is finalized, information management is mapped, and mockups are approved, development begins in earnest.
Pages are prepared from the approved mockups, navigation is put in place, data connections are established, graphic design is performed and all other production gets underway. If additional media components are to be implemented such as sound and/or animation, those are identified and developed accordingly.
Production depends on the scope and depth of a particular project. It may be as short as a week or as long as six months.
Regardless of the initial scope of a site, attention is given to modularizing content for simplified updates in the future. Reusable code is broken out of components and stored server side as functions/classes to optimize maintenance and management of the site.
Below is a brief itemization of my competencies in this area:
