In our many years of web development, the greatest lesson we’ve learned is the value of planning a project thoroughly and completely. This means making sure all of the details are sorted out before development begins. In our experience, intentional planning avoids numerous issues, saves time in the long run, and results in a better final product.
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Think about it this way, you wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint. So you shouldn’t build a website without a plan. With a robust planning process, issues come to light before development time has been wasted heading down the wrong path. You can also ensure that the final product is exactly what you were hoping for. You should never have to settle for a finished site that isn’t the way you pictured it.
The website planning phase contains a variety of steps, all important to a quality finished product:
- Create a Customer Journey Map by interviewing potential and existing customers as well as your team to better understand their needs and identify various touch points across all interactions with them.
- Wireframing the home page and sample interior pages.
- Creating a site map that includes all of the content that you want to appear on your site.
- Planning for best SEO practices, including title and meta tags, user-friendly URLs, and canonical issues.
- Listing the types of content your site will include such as blogs, news stories, videos, and events.
- Answering what browsers your site should be compatible with and if your users have any special needs like the use of screen readers.
- Data architecture document outlining the technologies used, custom development, taxonomies, and any additional fees.
- Perhaps most importantly, the planning phase ends with agreement by all involved parties.
At CommonPlaces, we know exactly what needs to be involved in the planning phase to make your project a success. This phase is not something you want to rush through or take chances on. If you need assistance with planning or a web development project, we would love to help! Reach out to us today.
