Web Development Phases

The Web development life cycle includes the following phases: planning, analysis, design and development, testing, and implementation and maintenance.

 

Web Development Phases and Questions
Web development phase	Questions to ask
Planning	What is the purpose of the Web site Who will use this Web site What are their computing environment Who owns and authors the information on the Web site
Analysis	What information is useful to the user
Design and development	What type of Web site layout is appropriate What forms of multimedia is helpful to the user
Testing	Is the Web site content correct Does the Website functions correctly Are users able to find the information they need Is the navigation easy to use?
Implementation and Maintenance	How is the Web site published How is the Web site updated Who is responsible for content updates Will the Web site be monitored

Web Site Planning: 

Involves the identification of the Web site goals or purpose. The question to ask is: What is the purpose of this Web site? 

In addition to understanding the Web site purpose, you should also ask: Who will use the Website? or knowing the target audience in terms of: age, gender, computer literacy, etc.

Understanding the computing environment will allow the designer to know what type of Technologies to use.

The last question is to ask who will provide the information included in the Web site. 

Web Site Analysis: 

During this phase, the Web designer needs to make decisions about the Web site content and functionality. It includes a detailed analysis of the content of the Website in terms information covered, processing required, etc.

Design and development :

• In this step, the layouts and navigation will be designed as a prototype.
• Throughout the design phase the team should develop test plans and procedures for quality assurance. It is necessary to obtain client approval on design and project plans.
• In parallel, the database team will understand the requirements and develop the database with all the data structures and sample data will also be prepared.

Web Site testing:

A Web site should be tested at various stages of the Web design and development. This testing should include a review of page content, functionality and usability.  Some basic steps to test content and functionality are:

• Reviewing for accurate spelling and proofreading content including page titles.
• Checking links to ensure that they are not broken and are linked correctly
• Checking graphics to confirm they display properly and are linked correctly
• Testing forms and other interactive page elements
• Testing pages to check for speed of loading on lower speed connection
• Printing each page to check how page s print
• Testing each Web in several different browser types and versions to verify they display correctly

Usability is the measure of how well product, allows users to accomplish their goals. Usability testing is a method by which users of a Web site are asked to perform certain tasks in an effort to measure the ease of use of the product.

 

Site Implementation and Maintenance:

Once the Web site testing is complete and any required changes have been made, the Web site can be implemented.  Implementation of a Web site means publishing the Web site or uploading it into a Web server.   

Once, the Web site has been implemented, its maintenance will include updating the information content by removing the outdated one and putting in the new one.

Periodical checking of the links is also necessary to ensure that they are still active. 

Finally, Website monitoring is another key aspect of maintenance. Usually, the Web servers that host the Web sites keep logs about Web site usage.

A log is the file that lists all the Web pages that have been requested from the Web site. Analyzing the logs allows you to determine the number of visitors to your site and the browser types and versions they are using, as well as their connection speeds, most commonly requested pages.