Outsource Website Development

The web site development process, like in software development, also follows certain phases in which certain inputs must be gathered and analyzed to generate outputs expected for each step. By following the life cycle steps, a site development team can be managed effectively and the quality of output for each step is assured.

The methods used in a site development cycle are varied and interchangeable according to the demands of the situation. In addition to that, we shouldn’t expect that each step is executed in a clear cut manner as indicated. It is possible that multiple changes will be made and the developers and designers in the team will have to go back to the drawing board again and again.

The first step in any endeavor is of course the Analysis. In this phase, the developers and designers in the team together with the client and the project manager or team leader must cooperate and identify the various factors that can affect the project and the different requirements needed to push the project through to the end.

A complete analysis should answer questions on the website’s role inside a system. Take for example, you already have a business with a physical store and lots of new customers coming in and old ones returning. However, you’d like to expand more to serve other locations. What do you do? You have two options: to build another store in another city, or to create a website online that can reach more people in other places.

Building a new store will cost you more than when you simply create a website and then find a way to deliver the goods efficiently to your customers. Finding local partners to provide logistics and warehousing is easier and less expensive.

In this scenario, what function did the site provide to the business owner? It became a way for the site owner to expand without spending too much. For the site development team, identifying the type of users the site is targeted towards is important. The site should work as an e-commerce site and the design should follow expectations of users.

A complete analysis, therefore, should include a cost-benefit analysis. All the present hardware, software, people and data should be considered. Moreover the analysis should cover all the aspects especially on how the web site is going to join the existing system.

In this step the analyst can gather inputs from interviews with the clients, mails and supporting docs by the client, discussions notes, online chats, recorded telephone conversations, model sites/applications, etc.

The expected outputs are a work plan for each team member, details of the costs involved, team requirements (programmers, designers, content developers, etc.), hardware and software requirements, supporting documents, and of course the approval of the client or the client’s representative.

The second step is called Specification Building. In this phase preliminary specifications are identified to satisfy each requirement. For example in creating a website each part should be included in the spec, such as the general layout, site navigation and the dynamic parts of the site. Larger projects may require further consultation to assess additional business and technical requirements. After reviewing and approving the preliminary document, a written proposal should be prepared, outlining the scope of the project including responsibilities, timelines and costs.

In conclusion, this phase gathers inputs from the reports from the analysis team and the output should be the complete requirement specifications sent to the individuals and the customer/customer’s representative.

The third phase in the site development process is the Design and Development, which seems to be the core of the site development process. Works starts when the signed proposal, an initial deposit (if it is required), and any written content materials and graphics the client may wish to include were all received in good order.

In most cases, the client likes to be presented with different versions of the site’s design and perhaps a prototype site that can demonstrate how it should function once it’s been finished. It is during this phase that rapid changes will be in effect, and the project should not move onto the next step unless the revisions have been done or fixed, and the final product has been approved by the client.

Throughout the design phase the team should develop test plans and procedures for quality assurance. At the same time the database team should work on the data requirements and start working on data structures. Sample data should also be prepared for demo.

The fourth phase is Content Writing where the output should be formatted content at the site. Content developers and writers are available to provide valuable content, such as product descriptions, for your visitors. Images and videos may be included by graphic artists and designers. By the end of this phase, spelling and grammar check should have been finished.

The last four phases are on the next page…