Steps for Building a Web Site
The following steps describe the process for developing, deploying, and maintaining a web site.
 | Site Concept |
| *Site Planning |
| Requirements |
| *Storyboarding |
| Architecture Design |
| *Content Development |
| *Production |
| *Deployment |
| *Maintenance |
* items tend to be "absolutely essential" -- the others are strongly recommended!
Site Concept
Be able to quantifiably and qualitatively define what the site is about!
| Develop a short, concise statement that describes what the site is
about, for example:
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Key things to identify:
| Audience (age, tastes, technical savvy, etc.) |
| How it impacts existing corporate environment (e.g., new way to sell and or reach clients). |
| Competition (who is doing it, how well (or poorly), other new players) |
| Projections of expectation (number of hits, contacts, sales). |
| Investment (cost to build and to support) |
| Return on Investment (ROI) - how much do you think you will make - this is often over-hyped. |
| Who is involved (if existing company - which staff is involved; if new company - who do we hire)? |
| Technology (local/remote hosting, server, browser, what is available or needs to be acquired). |
Prototype the site (top and key pages) to develop ideas, understand the ideas -- also to sell the site to management.
Site Planning
A key task that
| Purpose - what is the purpose of the web site -- this is a formalization of the "Purpose" section described above. |
| Tasking - what needs to be accomplished to build the site. |
| Resources - people, equipment, connectivity. |
| Schedule - when will it be done. |
| Develop a budget to design, develop, and maintain the site. |
| Risk Management - what happens if something goes wrong. |
Requirements
Similar to any system/software development exercise. The purpose is cover all the bases prior to writing code/pages.
Requirements should describe what is needed...
Key categories of requirements include the following:"The site will enable users to access product information and sales forecasting data"
Not how it will be done (e.g., the code or tools)...
"The site will be implemented with Cold Fusion..." (this is determined during the architecture design phase later on).
| Functionality- what will the site do, often depends on anticipated browser |
| Interoperability - capability to work with other systems (e.g., web services) |
| Scaling - expand to accommodate new capabilities and data. |
| Portability - move to different servers (typically not a major requirement). |
| Reusability - use parts of the site for new purposes (e.g., expand catalog to transaction support). |
| Performance/availability - how fast, efficient, number of users it can handle/process |
| User Interface - audience, browser |
| Database - existing database, new data |
| Support Operations - support (people/techs) to maintain (24X7) |
| Maintenance - how will site grow/evolve; what policies will be applied established - this may be the most important aspect for site growth and potential. |
Storyboarding the Content
Click here for PowerPoint Presentation on Storyboarding
Taken from multimedia industry (and film). Purpose is to provide a graphical view of the story to work out the best strategies.
Basic storyboard includes two perspectives:
- Broader site view including organization/grouping of content
- Page level view and interface consistency
Storyboards typically consist of three elements:
- Navigation diagram - shows the overall structure of the content/pages. Most often it reflects the links in the pages.
- Page template - shows the basic layout of a page including color, fonts, backgrounds, supporting graphics, button/link navigation elements
- Page layout - built from the template, it is the specific detail for each page of the site.
Architecture Design
A more classic (software wise) view of the web site. This includes descriptions, diagrams, and specifications for:
| Hardware (CPU, memory, disk capacity, backup, connectivity, power); also database servers, gateways, routers |
| Operating system |
| Server Software (web server, mail, ftp); also include supporting systems such as CGI software (e.g., ASP, Cold Fusion) |
| Unique scripting/coding for the site (e.g., ASP, JavaScript, Perl, Java, etc.) |
| Connectivity (server to end users, Intranet, Internet) |
| Development tools - web editors, testing software |
| Browser (e.g., any browser, IE/Netscape only, version restrictions) |
Consider:
| Options for deployment: in-house, web hosting services |
| Need for research and closely monitoring industry trends and standards. |
| End user needs (specific browser, connection speeds, performance needs). |
Content Development
Use storyboards manage and develop the content.
Cost-driven strategy for content production:
| Determine what is already available (cheapest). |
| Clip art resources. Also use templates (e.g., Front Page themes, third party materials) (cheaper) |
| "Borrow" generic materials (nice backgrounds, styles, ideas for layout) - DO NOT VIOLATE COPYRIGHT (expensive if you get caught). |
| Original artwork as required (most expensive). |
Develop internal standards for:
| Formatting text (use of columns, bulleting, tables, etc.) |
| Color (basic colors for text, backgrounds) |
| Graphics (texture, style, look, etc.) |
| Audio video format, type, etc. |
Keep a documented library of content (configuration management, track usage and application).
Establish a quality control mechanism to check all content (including spelling, color, sizing, etc.).
Production/Implementation
If requirements, storyboards, and content production is done -- production is trivial. Unfortunately, many organizations do those things poorly and try to compensate in this phase. The results include:
| Poor navigation. |
| Pages that are too busy, confusing. |
| Too little/too much content. |
| Mixed message. |
| etc., etc., etc. |
Build site from the top down. Test as it is produced - validate against storyboards and content. Install site on server and run operations and performance tests. As site is completed perform user testing for reaction.
Considerations:
| Use commercial authoring tools (FrontPage, Dreamweaver) |
| Establish an editorial review process to validate content as it is authored. |
| Finalize hardware and software systems including in-house resources or web hosting services. |
Deployment
| Establish a Day 0 backup |
| Consider a three tier development/deployment scheme:
|
| Conduct intense pre-delivery tests (check the links, content, performance, database interactions, etc.). |
| Coordinate with marketing and other agencies to get the word out - have an "unveiling" ceremony. |
| Be ready for questions, comments, and opinions (e.g., how to use the site, "why did you do this?", etc.). |
Maintenance
Maintenance is the "90% of the effort" following site deployment. Generally speaking, you should treat maintenance as follows:
| With as much or more interest than the developmental efforts. |
| As an on-going process that will significantly impact the look and feel and operational nature of the site over the long term. |
Key maintenance tasks include:
| Monitoring the site configuration (i.e., all files are available, in proper format, etc.). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Security (very critical for e-commerce sites)
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| Managing Content
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