With nearly thirty years of experience in all aspects of building websites and web applications, from concept and design to programming and editorial work, my optimised processes ensure that I can help you with in each step of the project.
If I’ve already provided you with a quote and if you need specific or extended support with any of these steps, please let me know. I’ll be happy to support you on the basis of time invested, or through a pre-defined or fixed-price budget block.
In the following explanations, I’ll summarise the usual approach for each step of a project to conceive and build a website. Please also take a look at the general terms and conditions, as these form a key part of our work together.
1. The concept phase
The process of making a custom-built website can be complex. One of the most crucial steps is to define the aim of the website. The usual questions which need to be answered before any design or programming work takes place are as follows.
- What does the website need to communicate?
- Who is the target audience for the content or the functionality, and what stakeholder needs must the new website fulfil?
- Are the visitors primarily using smartphones, or desktop computers, or even other devices like smart televisions? Are statistics available for the current version of an existing website, and can we review them when we start work?
- Does the website need to support a multilingual audience? How critical are target audiences in certain languages? We have to bear in mind that simply translating content into another language might not be sufficient: we need to communicate with visitors from other countries or other cultures using appropriate terms and social standards. Some information which local residents and customers might take for granted may need to be explained in more detail for other people.
- Do we need to add third-party solutions to the website? For example, a reservation tool, a connection to your CRM, or embedded third-party content?
- What laws and conditions do we need to include in the concept? Does the website need a cookie banner* or a new data privacy statement? Do we need deal with including content from third-party providers like YouTube, Google Maps, or from social media channels?
Not every website needs a cookie banner. We will discuss the requirements during the initial concept phase.
2. Visual design
Wireframes
The very first version of a website design is usually formed of a set of wireframes. A wireframe shows the layout and structure of a page with no graphic design. It is intended to show what page elements need to be used, from the position and basic function of the navigation to the page or article content.
Defining page and article content sections
WordPress doesn’t usually rely on fixed page templates. In a regular project, it allows the editorial team the opportunity to put the content of pages and news articles together using a range of content sections, each of which is defined in the initial concept. That’s why Say Hello design concepts are based on the content sections and not on the number of pages.
Examples of page sections may include text and multimedia content, forms, image galleries, contact forms or other, more advanced layouts and widgets.
Graphic design
Projects for which Say Hello develops a visual identity for the website are most often based on an existing CI/CD and on pre-existing print materials like PDFs, brochures and flyers. I often work with third-party graphic design and branding agencies on projects where the design considerations are more extensive, or where specific graphical elements need to be created.
Accessibility
It is important that all visitors to your website can access the content provided – without technical or user-related hurdles. Not just out of kindness, but also in order to meet accessibility guidelines and local laws. My own designs place accessibility high on the list of criteria, and I can assist agencies and project partners if they need my help.
3. Programming
Once the concept phase and the design are complete and have been signed off by the client, programming can commence. We will discuss the requirements and preferences for content management in advance and make sure that the editors can modify what they need to. My aim is to provide the simplest possible editorial experience, not just a vastly complicated and unwieldy set of tools.
Most Say Hello projects use WordPress—an open-source content management system—as a technical basis. Projects make optimal and sometimes customised use of existing content sections which WordPress itself provides, alongside custom sections which we’ve defined during the concept phase of the project.
I build almost all of the custom sections myself in strict adherence to WordPress standards. This ensures the longevity, efficiency, quality and performance of every part of the website.
4. Content creation
After the initial version of the technology is built and a preview version of the content management system is ready, editors will add their content to the site. This phase may take a little while and I always recommend that sufficient time is planned in for preparing the content before it is added to the website.
I recommend that the content be prepared as far in advance as possible—usually while I’m building the website, or even earlier. By starting work on the content early, my clients have as much time as they need to make sure that everything is just right before the content is added to the new website.
5. Change requests
At this stage of the project, a client may need a short training session, or they may wish to make small changes to the concept of the pages. Small changes can always be accommodated, but we will try to make sure that the concept phase contains a definite and complete set of definitions for the site. This will ensure that work is completed on-time and within budget.
Major changes at this stage will probably necessitate a change to the timescales of the project, and may involve additional costs.
6. Quality control
Once all of the content is complete, I check the entire website—the content, the technology and the design—a final time before the website is published. Once my own, detailed tests are completed on a range of agreed devices and at a range of different screen sizes, the client will sign off on the completed version of the site.
7. Getting the new site online
In most cases, the new website will be launched in the existing web hosting, for which the client will provide access well in advance. If no hosting is available, or if the client wishes to migrate the website to a new web hosting company, then this work will be accounted for in the budget and planned in advance. The launch of the new website is usually carried out during a quiet time of day, so that no break in service is noticed by site visitors.
