Web Design Process

High-level overview

In my last post, I said I was going to cover what is a project brief. Which I will, but first I want to do a quick rundown of all the steps in the Web Design Process. The following list is based on personal experience and research. Resources I found helpful are noted at the bottom of the page.

The web design process consists of the following steps:

  1. Analysis
  2. Planning
  3. Content
  4. Design
  5. Technology Development
  6. Testing
  7. Launch
  8. Maintenance

Analysis

What is the project? Who is involved? How much capital is there to invest in the project? When does it have to be done? Who is our audience? What tools do we have?

Planning

How will the project be done? What is the website supposed to do? Who is doing what part?  What technology are we using?

Content

Create website content which can be copy, photos, imagery, audio, and video.

Design

Design the look of the site. Color, font, layout.

Technology Development

Develop technology back end. Flat HTML pages, CMS, and any interactive features.

Testing

Test the Content, Design, and Technology.

Launch

Release site and promote.

Maintenance

Updated website content, maintain backend technology and continue promoting the website.

List order

This list can be followed 1 to 8. The order for items 3 to 5 is based on Content first and Mobile first methodology of web design. Items 3 to 5 can happen in a synchronous or asynchronous pattern if you are a team of 1 or concurrently if you have 2 or more people working on the project.

The order of completing the list will also be dictated by the use of either the Waterfall model of software design or the use of Agile methodology.

To learn more about the process based on the Waterfall or Agile methodology, read the follow-up posts below.

Web design process using the Waterfall model [coming soon]

Web design process using Agile methodology [coming soon]


Reference resources

Behind The Scenes of the Web Design Process