Welcome to XWD.com, where you can compile the various types of information
you need to design an effective, comprehensive, and user-friendly company
Web site. Developing a Web presence in the marketplace for your product
or service is an important part of a successful marketing plan. The
following steps and questions can help you develop and market your Web
site.

. Does your company need a Web site? Research your competitors’ Web
presences and then determine if you need a Web site, and if so, how soon
the site should be developed.

. Determine the vision and purpose for your Web site.

. What are the strategic objectives of your Web site? For example, do you
want to provide online ordering or to announce new products?

. Describe the processes required to create a successful Web site.

. What technology will you use for your Web site? Determine the server
type, where the server will be located, who will host your site, and who
will provide technical support for the site and server.

. Determine the costs of deploying your Web site, including such factors
as your budget, downtime, change processes, and upgrades.

. Identify action items for building your Web site.

. Develop your Web site diagram and draw preliminary mockups of your Web
page designs. Determine colors, graphics, and layout. Make notes of
critical decisions as you go.

. Identify your project resources and the logistics of building your site.

. Determine what documentation you must create and pass on to your
stakeholders. For example, you might need a marketing plan, a sales plan,
or an IT strategy.

. Identify the content for your Web site. Decide where you need to develop
specific content, adapt existing content, insert links, or create forms.

. Assign responsibilities and determine milestones and deadlines for
project completion.

. Assess the risks that might need special attention. Determine how to
handle those risks.

. Create mockups that show the final layouts for each page, frame, or
section of the site.

. Determine how elements on the site will interact with your internal
systems such as customer databases, product catalog, shopping cart, order
confirmation, e-mail, and security, as well as external elements such as
credit card and order verification systems.

. Develop a testing strategy and run function tests to make sure that all
items populate and work properly. Address any found issues prior to
release.

. Determine the content that you want to put on your site. This includes
items such as your company information, product lists or catalogs,
locations, press releases, contact information, or FAQs.

. Identify the graphic elements that you need for your site, and assign
the resources necessary for development. Graphic assets can include
photographs, illustrations, animated objects, fonts, and user interface
elements such as option buttons and navigation buttons.

. Identify and develop the templates that you need to present information
on your site.

. Develop your functionality testing strategy. How will the site be tested
to make sure that every element functions as expected? Do you need to test
how quickly your site loads in every browser that you support? How will
your site come up in various Web searches?

. Assess your project plan and identify milestones that still must be
reached. Update your plan as needed. Are there any critical areas that
still need attention?

. Stabilization includes testing your Web pages for accuracy and
functionality, fixing bugs in the code, deploying the finished product for
public use, and performing continuing maintenance to keep your Web
environment running at optimal levels.

. Determine at what point the system’s response time degrades or fails
under heavy loads. Make sure to test each browser that you support.

. Develop and implement a system for noting and fixing bugs within the
site as they are identified. What system will you use for testing the bug
fixes?

. Develop a plan for deploying your completed Web site to the Internet.

. Determine a plan for maintaining your Web site. Indicate who will
perform backups, replace hardware, and install updated content. Will your
site host be responsible for any of these tasks? Develop a site
maintenance schedule.

At XWD.com, we help you on how to get your website or company get noticed
ahead of its competition. Explore our website and get brilliant tips from
our list of contributors.