The website development lifecycle is a complex process that involves many stages. It's important to understand the different stages involved in the development of a website so you can figure out what needs to be done first and how long it will take for your site to go live.
So,
what are these steps you ask? Today, we'll talk about the seven stages that go
into building a website.
1. Planning
Planning
is the first stage of the website development lifecycle. Planning, which
includes analysis of the problem or opportunity being addressed, makes sure you
have all the information you need to make informed decisions about your project.
2. Research and Discovery
Research
and discovery are crucial parts of the website development lifecycle. What
exactly does it mean? Well, research means analyzing your target audience,
their needs, and what they want from your product or service. Discovery is how
you discover information about your customers so that you can build something
that meets those needs.
When
done properly, both processes help you create great products and services for
your customers!
3. Designing
It
involves identifying user needs and creating a design concept that meets those
needs. Designers use wireframing tools like Axure or Omnigraffle to create
simple mockups of their designs. Wireframes are static designs that allow
designers to test how users will interact with their site before they spend
time programming everything on a more expensive tool like FrontPage or
Dreamweaver.
4. Development
Involves
building actual webpages using HTML/CSS/JavaScript languages along with
server-side technologies like PHP/MySQL/Apache/Linux operating systems etc.,
depending on if the website is going to be hosted on a server or be self-hosted
on a local computer. This stage is sometimes referred to as
"development" because it is where content is created for display on
the website itself.
5. Testing
Testing
is the process of ensuring that your website works as expected. It involves
running tests to make sure it doesn't break under certain conditions, such as
when users click on different links or enter data into forms.
6. Deployment
Deployment
is the process of making a website live on the internet, including publishing
it to all major search engines (if applicable). This can be done through one
method or another; for example: using FTP software like FileZilla; uploading
directly through WordPress' built-in feature; using an automated tool like
deployer.io; or manually uploading files via FTP yourself.
7. Maintenance
Maintenance
is the process of making sure that your website is up-to-date and in good
working order. This includes fixing any bugs, improving the user experience,
and ensuring that it’s always available for users.
The
maintenance stage covers all activities related to maintaining a website after
its launch. It includes:
Updating
content on your site (new posts/pages)
Making
sure all pages are accessible by search engine robots (SEO)
Improving
usability with usability tests
Summary
The
website development lifecycle is a model that describes the stages involved in
creating a new website. The major stages of this process include planning,
research, and discovery, designing, development, testing, deployment and
maintenance
