The overall website development process includes a number of general steps required to successfully launch a website:
- Planning (two to three weeks)
- Content creation ( four to six weeks)
- Website design (two to three weeks)
- Test and review (one to two weeks)
View overall we 10-14 weeks from idea to completion. These time frames are estimates and your process may take more or less time depending on how complex your website will be. Let’s go into the details of each step.
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Step 1: Planning
This initial phase lays the foundation for your website. What is your target audience? Should your website contain a blog? What color scheme and design elements work? After completing the planning phase, you should have a clear understanding of how you or the developer intends to proceed.
The length of this development window depends on a number of factors:
- The complexity of the Website: Is it a single scrolling page or a series of web pages?
- The Creator of the Website: You create it yourself, with a single developer collaborate or hire a team?
- Site purpose: Does creating this site help customers understand how your business works? Will it be used to sell products or services?
You want to be sure that the planning phase addresses all of your concerns before proceeding. Although the actionable window of website development gets a lot of attention (i.e. creating a design or writing content), issues can also arise here as they were not addressed during the planning phase.
Consider this as a average website lifespan is two years and seven months. It is highly doubtful that when these sites were created the plan was to abandon them after a few years. Because of this, when planning your website, you need to be aware of issues that typically contribute to website resolution and abandonment. Here are some examples:
- Missing updates and outdated content
- Bugs and maintenance issues
- Poor user experience (UX)
- Inability to connect with the target audience
- Poor Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
By addressing common issues during the planning step with a long-term strategy, you could help achieve the anticipated Extend the life of your website after launch.
Planning tools
Going through the planning phase is easier when you have the right tools. For example, you can create a sitemap to determine the exact layout and navigation flow of your website before proceeding with the design phase.
Some popular website planning tools are monday.com, Trello, or other project management tools -Tools platforms. These tools can help you schedule your site’s launch, record the type of content your site will contain, delegate tasks to team members, and more.
Step 2: Content Creation
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It does not bode well to wait until after a launch to start scheduling content. It’s not enough for a website to appear complete when it goes live; Content is part of your long-term strategy. It needs to be routinely checked for accuracy, and if your site hosts a blog, you should have a content calendar that determines when it will be updated.
Consideration should be made regarding the type of content on your site will also include how long or short a blog post is. Can visitors receive an informative white paper or e-book? Studies also show that video and audio content can increase the time visitors stay on a website. One study showed that up to 57% of website visitors stayed longer when video content was available.
Canva is an excellent tool for creating all types of content for the web, whether it’s text, audio, or images. Grammarly, which can help you avoid embarrassing typos, is another solid investment that integrates seamlessly with Google Docs or WordPress. Both tools offer free plans and premium access options.
Due to the nature of designing, recording and editing video or audio for the web, you may need a larger preparation window before starting. But taking the time to create great content for your website is an important step in building your website.
Step 3: Web Design
At this stage, your website should start to take on visual form . Often that means deciding whether your website consists of a single scrolling page, a complex system of dozens of responsive pages, or maybe even needs a mobile app.
This phase can seem incredibly daunting when you don’t have the Lack of time or resources for a comprehensive design team. However, it is worth considering web design software options like mockup tools or website builders.
Create a mockup
If you had to explain how a website looks or works to someone who has never heard of the internet, how would you do it do? do you deal with it Sometimes words only go so far; A full visual impression can be the best solution to convey the intended look.
Enter the mockup. A standard model is a web page creation that accurately reflects the expected final form it will take on launch. Although not the working and finished version, they will help you or others to visually understand the intended website. Examples: Mockups:
- Determine if an idea is realistic or functional before committing to it and save time and money if it doesn’t work
- At Choices for color themes or fonts help choose the best aesthetic
- Demonstrate how the site will appear on different devices and allow adjustments for usability or visual appeal well before launch
Once you’ve decided on a model that best reflects the website you want to create, it’s time to find the best way to turn your website into reality.
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Use a website builder
Thanks to the advancement of no-code software and related tools, virtually anyone can develop a website without having to learn Python or JavaScript. There are many powerful website builders today that work by “drag and drop” virtually every aspect of your website, allowing you to build it piece by piece exactly how you want it to be.
Website – Creators don’t just handle the process of creation; Some also manage the website’s hosting requirements. They can also serve as an important tool to prepare and finalize the look and feel of your website before it goes live.
Some of the most popular website builders that we recommend are:
- Weebly: Weebly is affordable, easy to use and very flexible. It’s a great option for smaller businesses and individuals, and it also offers e-commerce options.
- Squarespace: Squarespace, one of the most well-known website builders, combines award-winning templates with it easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor.
- GoDaddy: Who knew creating a website could be as easy as answering a few simple questions? In addition to domains and web hosting, GoDaddy offers its customers a no-hassle web builder to get them on the road to a quick and easy website launch.
If you want to learn more and search the To find the best option for your needs, read our full comparison of the best website builders.
What about Discovery?
Whether you’re with a single developer or developers work team, you need to take your time to explore. This crucial initial phase includes research and data analysis that will answer the developer’s questions on how best to set up the website according to the needs of the business and the client. The developer can ask questions or raise concerns about potential user experience issues.
Depending on the complexity of your website, the process can take anywhere from a few weeks to half a year. In the end, everyone should have a concrete understanding of the intended design and function of the website.
Step 4: Test and Verify
Once you’ve created a website, there is a period of time between yours Completion and planned launch should be reserved for review and testing. Things to check before the website goes live:
- Website speed. A study found that a website load time of four seconds or less is ideal for e-commerce -Conversions is . However, Google has found that when websites take longer than three seconds to load, bounce rates increased by 32%.
- User Experience (UX). Does your website include navigation tools such as a Menu or a “back to top” function? Is the writing too light or too small and so difficult to read? Do you use AI chatbots or can a customer reach a live human during business hours? It’s important to ensure that you keep usability and convenience in mind when designing a website.
- Content quality. Businesses with stubborn website typos lose twice as many customers as their more grammatical ones competitors. Before you launch your site, double-check it for typos. If you’re not confident in your abilities, consider hiring an editor or using a tool like Grammarly.
- Plugins. A key reason to look out for website plugins is, that incompatibility is possible causing various problems. Your website may not load properly due to a plugin error. Perform all necessary checks to ensure all plugins are compatible and up-to-date.
After testing and making the required changes, you can finally move on to the most exciting part – a successful website launch.
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