VISION
I believe that successful design highly depends on cooperative and trusting relationship between the designer and the client. As a freelance web designer I work closely with the client to ensure that the website project meets the client's business goals. I listen to the client's needs carefully and we work together on solving any issues that might arise during the project.
Before I start any project, I try to learn about the client's business as much as possible. The first stage of designing a website involves understanding the business needs of the client which will help the designer to interpret these needs into effective design. Understanding the process involved in developing a website is very important to avoid undesirable pitfalls. Below I outlined the steps involved in designing the website.
Web Design Process
1. Preparation
This stage involves assessing client's needs and setting site objectives. The client is typically asked to fill out a Client Survey that consists of questions that help me prepare for the face-to-face meeting. The first meeting involves discussion of your website expectations and provides opportunity to ask questions. Based on the outcome of our meeting, I will prepare a proposal that outlines the services I will provide, project deliverables, schedule, and costs.
2. Conceptual Design
During this stage I do content and task analysis, create functional specifications, and develop wireframes (technical blueprints of your future website), site diagram, and sitemap. Click the thumbnails below to view examples of a wireframe and site diagram:
3. Interface Design
This stage includes establishing stylistic guidelines and creating design comps (mockups).
4. Production
During the production stage, HTML templates are designed. Any programming (e.g. scripts, databases, Flash) if required, is performed at this time. Once the coding is done, the site is ready for testing!
5. Quality Assurance and Testing
As the title indicates, this is the stage when testing and quality assurance analyses are performed. Usability and accessibility testing is also performed at this stage to ensure the site is easy to use and accessible to people with disabilities.
6. Launch
This is the most exciting stage when your site is finally ready to launch! I upload your site to the web server, set up email accounts, statistics and search optimization programs.
7. Maintenance and Training
I train the client in updating the website, navigating through the control panel of web host, and doing statistics analysis on the website. SEO training might be offered as part of a SEO package.