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This is a crucial phase of the project, as it is this stage that determines the foundation for the success of the project. Areas covered at this stage may include research; strategy sessions; writing of creative brief; writing of technical briefs or more detailed architecture, requirements and definitions document; site architecture plan; wireframes and sitemap creation.

Based on the creative brief and information gathered in the strategy stage, the project will then move to the design phase. It is at this stage that design mock ups are created and presented for feedback to establish a custom or template design that meets the goals for the new website (check out this article about custom and template designs to learn more). Design mockups may include homepage designs, multiple internal page designs, desktop views, and mobile views.

Using the approved design, site architecture, technical brief, and sitemap the project then moves to the development stage. This is where the website comes to life and all the elements of the site come together to produce a high-quality website. There is little client involvement at this stage of the project, but a good portion of the timeline will be required for this stage. If custom web applications, integrations, or tools are required within the site, the timeline for this phase can stretch even longer.

The value of good content for any website cannot be underestimated. As important as a good design, quality content can set a website apart. It can be a time-consuming process creating new content and migrating existing content; however, the reward is worth the effort. Content writing and assembly involves establishing key messages and calls-to-action, porting over content from existing sites, writing new text, editing text, creating headlines, page titles, captions and text for SEO purposes, headlines, descriptions and tags. This process typically overlaps with other parts of the site creation process. Upanup offers services such as content training, audits, migration, and more to support your team during this phase (or prior to the project). 

Once the content has been migrated to the newly developed site it then goes to a beta testing stage. The opportunity is given to the client to share the site with the necessary stakeholders for review and feedback in a password-protected location. Testing is also conducted during this stage to ensure the site is optimized across multiple browsers, screens and mobile devices and ensure the site is performing as it should prior to launch.

Upon approval from the beta stage, the new website is then launched with no interruption to the current site. The launch process can be simple and quick, or can be more complex depending on what is involved for the client.

Once a website has gone live, there needs to be ongoing upkeep, in terms of hosting and security, as well as content creation and accessibility. There is also a great opportunity to keep improving on the site based on real user feedback and requests. For some of our clients’ sites, we recommend scheduling periodic reviews so that the website is continually enhanced.