Development Planning

It is vitally important, especially when designing at an advanced level, to pay particular attention to the whole process of Web Site Design.

This means spending time with your client, and then back at the office, setting out a logical procedure for accomplishing the project.

So, don't fall into the trap that inexperienced designers fall into, of just opening Notepad, or their HTML editor, and setting off, invariably without any real idea or direction. That is the very best way to waste time and become frustrated. Every new idea or 'improvement' that comes to you as you operate 'on the fly' sets you back hours as you begin to amend and try them in all the pages.

So, it's worth taking a more professional approach for a number of reasons:

• You know what the client wants.
• The client knows what to expect and when.
• Less time spent on alterations and amendments.
• A clear direction – no fumbling or confusion.

There follows a rough guide to help you to complete a new web design project successfully:

1. Take the initial enquiry and arrange a meeting, preferably at the client's premises:
   • To get a feel for the client's corporate identity
   • Collect a range of promotional literature
   • Discuss purpose of intended Web presence
   • To discuss / sketch, possible solutions / options
   • Discuss / agree time scales
   • Discuss / agree cost considerations
     
2. Consider the above requirements / agreements:
   • Any further thoughts?
   • Confirm salient points of meeting in writing
     
3. Purpose of Web presence:
   • How can you achieve it?
     
4. Goals: What should visitors be able to accomplish?
   Obtain information, order goods, membership registration?
   
   
5. Organise all the information;
   • Obtain all information re content
   • Separate content into relevant 'chunks'
     
6. Decide on a navigation strategy:
   • How are you going to pull all the pages together?
   • What is the best way for visitors to access the contents?
     
7. Storyboard the contents:
   • Outline the site layout
   • Sketch each page layout
     
8. Can you foresee any problems? – Resolve them now
   
   
9. Now integrate all the above steps and create the Web Site!

Plus - Remember to always keep your client informed!

So you see that there's a lot more to it than just running amok with a text editor!

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