Checklist for Website Development

Vanderbilt University Web Developers Group

January 16, 2002
Anna Belle Leiserson
Vanderbilt University Law School

The Five Phases

1. Set the Goals
2. Blueprint the Structure
3. Design the Look and Feel
4. Develop the Basic Coding
5. Publish the Site

Phase One: Set the Goals

1. Think it through yourself
   1. Gather ideas, inspirations, etc. Examples of what I collect:
      • Web Design Workflow: Project Design and Management by Kelly Goto
      • The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett
      • Other helpful articles
      • Sites I like visually
      • Sites I like structurally
   2. Analyze / critique the current design (if there is one)
   3. Get acquainted with the tools you will be using
   4. Rough it out
2. Determine the user needs. Possibilities include:
   1. Work with your "Core Group"
   2. Work with your Web committee
   3. Work with the previous webmaster
   4. Do usability studies
   5. Do a survey
   6. Include questions in an annual survey
   7. Review your log files
3. Combine the results of one and two
   1. Define your audiences as concretely as you can
   2. Expand your rough lists, etc., as needed
4. Get your Web Team in place
   1. Webmaster
   2. Art Editor / Designer/ Photographers
   3. Writers
   4. HTML Coders
   5. Programmers
   6. Copy Editors
5. Develop a schedule and review with "Core Group."

Phase Two: Blueprint the Structure

1. Create a sitemap
   1. Decide the depth of the site structure
   2. Sketch it out
2. Figure out consistent labels
3. Decide on naming conventions
4. Decide about archives
5. Decide about PDF
6. Decide about multimedia: audio, video, Flash
7. Decide on technical needs: databases, programming
8. Review your blueprint with core group

Phase Three: Design the Look and Feel

Create one or more visual templates (for the various site levels):

1. Sketch the basic layout / a.k.a.create a wireframe
2. Decide how the layout will be held together - frames, tables, layers, CSS
3. Decide on width and placement
4. Choose a color scheme
5. Choose a font set
6. Monitor total file size
7. Flesh these design templates out
8. Review the look with core group and adapt

Phase 4: Develop the Basic Coding

Turn visual templates into coded templates:

1. Create graphics files for templates
2. Do the HTML and scripting or programming (CGI, PHP, JavaScript, etc.) for templates
3. Use ALT tags for graphics.
4. Use META tags
5. Check templates against your Guidelines
6. Load templates to a "staging site" and review on all the most important platforms
7. Test using various validators
8. Double check with core group and adapt as needed

Phase 5: Publish the Site

1. Make sure the content has been delivered to you
2. Do graphics and mark up for all pages
3. Produce PDF files
4. Proofread
5. Test all pages and links
6. Upload (FTP) to the server
7. Test all pages again
8. Announce it in listserv email, newsletters, etc.
9. Register it with search engines
10. Set up a maintenance schedule
11. Create documentation for next webmaster
12. Circle back to gathering ideas

Zeldman's Top 10 Tips for Designers

1. Think about the audience first.
2. Minimize bandwidth.
3. Give each site a personal voice and a real point of view. The audience will connect with that.
4. Do what's actually needed. Don't do things simply because you can.
5. Be entertaining. Inducing boredom is not a plan for growth.
6. In most cases, use Web standards and test your work at http://validator.w3.org/ .
7. If you think you know all the answers, you're wrong.
8. If you're doing what you did last year, you're dead.
9. Test your site -- not just on multiple browsers and platforms, but on people. Your interface is rarely as transparent as you think. But don't be a slave to test results, either. Trust your instincts. Balance them against test results. Rinse, lather, repeat.
10. Get half the fee up front.

 

Clipart courtesy of Aon Celtic Art

Last Modified: May 11, 2002
a.leiserson@law.vanderbilt.edu