Overview of a Website Development Process:
Phase 1: Planning & Discovery
– Requirements Analysis
– Content Audit
– Competitor Analysis
– Project Charter / Website Strategy Plan
– Site Map / Information Architecture Planning
– Define Team Member Roles
– Organize Project Budget & Gather Resources
Phase 2: Visual Design
– Wireframe & Design Elements Planning
– Fireworks/ Photoshop Mockups
– Review & Approval Cycle
– HTML/CSS Mockups & Layouts
– CMS Page Template Mockups
Phase 3: Development / Programing
– Setup / Build Development Framework
– Code Templates for Each Page Type
– Develop Special Features & Interactivity
– Define User Roles & Permissions
– Populate with Content
– Quality Assurance, Usability, and Accessibility Testing of the System
Phase 4: Launch (aka Deployment or Delivery)
– Final Polishing & Refinement of Interface Elements
– Initial Training for CMS Editors
– Transfer to Live Server (mockup to live)
– Final QA Testing: (validation, broken link checking, accessibility testing)
– Final Cross Browser Checks and Server Performance Testing
Phase 5: Post-Launch Maintenance
– Continuing User Training for CMS Editors
– Continuing Content Posting, New Page Creation, and Special Requests
– Ongoing Maintenance, Analytics Monitoring, Server Performance Adjustments
– New Content Marketing & Promotion, Campaign Success Analysis, A/B Testing of Page Variations
– Documenting Source Files, Documenting Server Performance Tweaks, Bug Tracking
– Administration & Updating of CMS User Accounts