The website is an integral part of any business or information hub. If your organisation or business in Northampton is not found on the Internet, you somehow do not exist. Clients and potential leads will have a hard time reaching out to you.
If you do plan to create a website, know that the process is not easy. Website design and development consists of a lot of phases and mini procedures. If you’re going to make the site for your business, you will have to be detail-oriented, as missing one key detail may delay the launch of your website.
In case it is your first time to have a website built for you, you must be familiar with the bulk of the process. This way, you will have an appreciation for the painstaking efforts that web designers and developers put forth. It will also help you understand some concepts and problems that come with the process, allowing you to come up with a much more practical decision.
Below are some of the major phases of website design and development:
Gathering Pertinent Information
You do not just build a website without the right foundations. In this regard, the foundations are the knowledge you have about your customers and visitors. After all, you will not be the only person who will use the site. You should know the behaviour of your target audience, their tastes and their motivations. All these factors influence the look and usability of your site.
Planning the Design
Once you have the information from your target audience, it’s time to plan the design. Get your pencil and paper, as you will be required to do a lot of sketching. This is often the phase where you will need the help and capabilities of the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) experts. The themes of your design should be in line with your branding. To visualize and execute the design, you will also need the help of a company that provides professional website design services.
Developing the Website
You may want to test the design on a few people, and once you get and apply their feedback, you can send it to the team of developers that will build the website. You need to choose which language your design will use for compatibility purposes.
Testing the Site
When the website has been developed, you need to conduct A/B testing before launch. This means you will do two studies of your design and find out which of them works better. This will help you gather information from the potential users, and use that information to improve your web design and the site’s usability.
Websites are important organisational and business assets. They are a means of communication, and in a way, they constitute your identity. How your website looks and functions will always be associated with you, so you must invest in a talented team that will work on the project. More importantly, you need to understand the processes involved, so that you will have an appreciation for the painstaking efforts put forth by web professionals.