Designing a website is not only about how it looks. It is also about the architecture of the site, the visual elements, implementation, promotion and maintenance. Determine what kind of a website you are looking for and develop the "scope of work". This phase is the most critical, yet is the most ignored.

The Scope of Work

Why do you want a web site?
Determine whom you want to reach?
Why do visitors want to visit your website?
What are needs of your online customer?
How do you translate these needs to online features of your website?
What actions do you want the visitor to take?

The answers to these and other questions will frame the scope of work and determine the rest of the project.

Architecture
This phase addresses how you transform the Scope of work phase into your website. Marketing strategy, content strategy, creative strategy... all of these issues are dealt with in this phase. Flowcharts, project sites, navigation and page mockups are created. During the project evolution, variations will occur from what is determined here. The results of this phase provide the underpinnings and guidance for the rest of the process.

Design
With the structural framework in place, the visual elements are developed. At this stage, the screen layout, navigation, graphics, and content are all created. As this phase is the most time-intensive, it often becomes the focus of many design firms.

Implementation
Once the screen design is finalized, the content provided, and the graphics created, the next phase is to test the product. At this point, it "goes live" to a staging server where it can be thoroughly tested. After the final troubleshooting tasks are completed, the site is ready to be released to the Web. The completed site is uploaded to the appropriate hosting server.

Promotion
With a site in place, the next phase is to make sure that the people targeted in the Scope of work phase are actually coming to the site and utilizing the features.

Maintenance
With the site in place, and people actually using it, the next phase includes: creating a database of users, analyzing who is coming to the site, communicating with these visitors, and making sure that these people come back. Content freshness is an ever-constant issue with web sites: people return to sites that offer them new material, but rarely revisit sites that don't offer anything different than their last visit.

Ten Step Process to Website Design

1: Planning
2: Define the Content
3: Labelling the Content
4: Creating the Mockup
5: Reviewing the Mockup
6: Building the Website
7: Testing the Website
8: Final Approval
9: Uploading the Website10: Online Marketing

• Search engine optimization
• Blogging
• Email newsletter  
• Press  releases
• Online advertising
• Streaming video