The Streamline Web Design and Development Process

We believe in planning. Our company has a history of working closely with (some of it's owners within) the building industry, and because of that experience we believe that building a good website is not much different than building a house. If you were to build a house with no house plan, it's not very likely that it would turn out very well. Getting a good product requires proper planning, design, and research, even before construction begins. We follow the same method when building our websites. Our process has the following six phases: discovery, planning, design, development, testing, and launch.

Discovery

The first stage involves our meeting with you to discover exactly what it is you want out of your website. We want to know if you are simply looking for a small information-only site or if you would like more complex features and capabilities within your site. This information will help us know how to proceed, and will tell us how quickly we might be able to move through the next phases. Other items discussed during this initial meeting include a domain name, hosting requirements, Search Engine Optimization, graphic design, software/hardware requirements, and maintenance. This is also where you have the opportunity to decide if you would like to work with us. We will discuss costs and, if we reach an agreement, contracts will be signed to begin work. This phase also includes our being educated by you on what you would like the website to accomplish, and researching solutions to those issues. This enables us to learn more about the processes that are already in place, which need to remain the way they are, and which can be improved.

Planning

The planning phase will vary in length with the complexity of the site. If your site is more complex this stage will be more involved. Planning a complex site requires drawing "blueprints" of the site, we want the site to be built properly, so we create a flow-diagram which shows the title of each page and how each page interrelates. We then build wireframes (non-functional layouts of every page within your site) which are reviewed with you to ensure desired functionality. These wireframes show layout only, colors and graphics on the site are not discussed yet. Time spent getting these exactly right will save time in the design and development phases.

Design

The design phase is where we begin to talk about colors and graphics for a complex site. We will gather information from you regarding sites and layouts you might like. We will also ask for any photos, logos, and files you might like to have displayed on your site. If you do not have a logo we can also provide graphic design services. We now take the wireframes and build them out into non-functional digital pages. These pages show all of the design elements which will be desired throughout the site. This stage can overlap somewhat with the development stage to reduce time in the project duration. For a smaller site there is no differentiation between the design and development phases.

Development

This is where your site comes to life. The designs which are now complete are taken and made "active". We build out your entire site according to the specifications laid out during the discovery and planning phases of the project. We build our sites using a Content Management System (CMS), which will allow you, if you choose, to make modifications to the site yourself.

Testing and Launch

Following development, the site is tested thoroughly for any bugs. When we are both comfortable with the stability of the site we take it live on the web.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like to schedule a meeting to discuss your project. We would love to help your business be more successful through the power of the web. Please let us know what we might be able to do to help.