What Steps are Involved in Building a Web Site?

We follow a systematic process to create a web site. This simplifies the task for us and ensures that you know what to expect. The steps involved are:

1. Define the web site. Think of this step as building the foundation. We meet with you to discuss:

What do you want your site to accomplish for your business? What group or groups of visitors do you expect? What divisions of information and types of features should the site contain? Will you create the written content or will we? 

What kind of "look" do you want? What colors? What do you like in a web site? What do you hate? Do you have a logo? Photos? Would you like us to host your web site? Do you have a domain name (the address that people will enter to get to your site) or would you like us to register one for you?

We explain any web concepts that you don't understand and look at live web sites with you to point out the features they contain. 

This initial meeting does not cost you anything. Afterwards, we draw up a proposal containing a quoted price; we wait for your OK before proceeding further. 

2. Plan the design. We now get to work planning how to build what you've specified you want, so that it works best. When we come up with a design, we place it in "mock up" form on a test site for you to look at. We refine the design until you are completely satisfied.

This phase includes planning how a viewer will navigate through the site, how many pages there will be, how the information will be broken down and organized, and how individual pages will look. It also involves creating or integrating graphic elements such as your logo, any photos, page title and sub-title elements. 

3. Construct the pages. We translate the approved "mock up" into functioning web pages. Templates are constructed for first level pages, second level pages, etc.

4. Add the content. For each page of your site, we integrate written content into the appropriate template. We construct hyperlinks and forms and any special effects such as animation, audio or video. If your site will contain a database and programming for special features, we develop and add these now.

We update the test site regularly so you can follow your site's progress. 

5. Test and test some more. The completed test site is thoroughly gone over by us and by you to make sure it is ready to go live.

6. Make the site live. We upload the completed web site to the host server and initiate the process to connect your domain name to this server.

7. Make the site findable. During the construction of your site we incorporated HTML tags called "meta tags" to help search engines list your site properly. At this time, we submit your site to the search engines so that they know it is live.

8. Maintain the site (ongoing). We want your web site to remain fresh and current. We can maintain your web site ourselves or we can train you to do it.