If you’re going through a new website design project for a client, then setting up reasonable timetables and strategic preparation is important to its success. If your project doesn’t have milestones, then you’re putting a lot on the line.
Well-designed websites offer far more than simply aesthetics. They attract visitors and help people understand the product, company, and branding through a variety of indicators, encompassing visuals, text, and interactions. Which means every element of your site must work towards an outlined goal.
The ingenuity lies in then furthering the aesthetics of the web site using intuitive and illustrative graphics. The visitors should have easy to navigate tabs and options at their disposal. The navigation key must be palpable and accessible. The simplest web designs are appeasing and also highly time-efficient.
Here we look at milestones in three separate phases for a dive into the entire process. Let’s see what these project milestones are and how they can help you ensure your website project runs smoothly.
The Definition Phase Milestone
Hold your horses! There’s no need to rush into coding anything. At the beginning you should focus on becoming acquainted with your customer and the project requirements.
Project Setup: The initial step is meeting the company’s partners to understand the biggest objectives of the site, their target audience needs, and recognize their key competitors. It may be useful to write down one or more clearly identified goals, or a one-paragraph summary of the expected aims. This may help to place the design on the proper path. Ensure you understand the website’s audience, and develop a working knowledge of the competition. The entire project can set off in the wrong direction if not identified clearly.
- Customer On boarding:
The customer has been met to talk about the project process and offered admittance to the project management framework.
- Assets Collected:
All important assets and creative elements have been gathered from the customer. Such items including photography, logos, videos, documents.
- Site Map Finalized:
With the scope well-defined, we will start digging into the sitemap, defining how the content and features we defined in scope definition will interrelate. The sitemap helps outline the site’s information architecture. Building a sitemap before the real planning stage assists you to plan more successful site navigation. Once we know the site’s goals, we are able to define the scope of the project. I.e., what sites and features the site requires to fulfil the goal, and also the timeline for building those out. this is often the stage that needs client interaction and the accompanying attention to detail.
- Wireframes Approval:
Wireframing is the cornerstone of a well-planned site. It gives structure to the site’s visual plan and content components. It may help identify potential challenges and gaps with the sitemap. Although a wireframe doesn’t contain any final design elements, it does act as a guide for a way the site will ultimately look. It also can act as inspiration for the formatting of varied elements.
The Working Phase Milestones
When you have a good understanding of the project, you can now get started.
- Mock-ups Created:
The mockup is where the work truly starts. You’ll need to begin adding the important elements like typography, colors, and pictures so the customer can provide their input.
- Last Mock-ups Created:
Based on customer feedback, the final mock-ups have been completed and approved.
- Content Delivered:
Both front-end and back-end refining should be well done during the development stage, with more concentration on the inclusion of the site content into the design.
- Final Prototype Available:
This is normally where the customer will get the full feel of the site and be able to start interacting with it before going live.
The Launching Phase Milestones
When you arrive at this stage of the project, you’re in the last leg. The difficult work is done and all that is left are final tweaks and launching criteria.
- Customer Review Completed:
The customer has critiqued the development site and has given you a rundown of any final changes.
- Customer Changes Addressed:
Web design is a tightrope between structure and functionality, and your engineers need to get the sweet spot that the client deserves.
- Website Compatibility Confirmed:
An in-depth testing routine guarantees that the client and their customers don’t encounter any issues while using your site.
- Pre-Launch Review Completed:
An audit for any remaining mistakes and issues has been done and the site has been cleared for launch.
- Site Launched:
Launching of the site is its transition to the live server.
- Post-Launch Review Completed:
The testing cycle continues uninterrupted, with the site being continually refreshed with new content and fixed of all bugs.
This post has been kindly contributed by the team at Web Integrations, a web design agency serving customers across Scotland, UK.