In web projects, the basics are always the same, whether you are building a website. Always begin the process with a comprehensive discovery and definition process. This allows your agency to understand the goals of the project in a better way and tackle the potential challenges. It will also help define aspects like project KPIs and ensure that your team shares the same vision of success.
In the advanced and technology-oriented world, there has been a slight dwindle in the mystique of web development. This is the case because the companies are continually striving for the latest shiny new development in technology.
Once it used to seen as a job that belonged to the highest skilled professional. Now, many people feel confident about taking it on themselves as they try to put on a freelancing website. Web development is becoming less of a precious commodity at the exact time when its use has increased. In a way, it is definite that website creation has become widely accessible. It is worth highlighting that high-quality web development is still contextual, nuanced, and scarce resource.
With an improvement in technology, the tools and depth of skills of the professionals have also improved. After the implementation of such technology, the developers can deliver projects of the highest quality consistently.
Essentials for pre-development
The key for Wpisset will be pre-planning and laying down strong digital foundations if a website needs to be successfully developed.
#1 Discovery phase
The first step in the process of web development will be all about discovering:
- What your website should achieve?
- Who are the stakeholders and the end customers.
- How to best connect with them to produce the best performing website.
These are the crucial parts of defining any problem. You can approach them from two angles:
- Business – Who are you, and what do you do? Talk about your goals, challenges and expectations of the stakeholders.
- Customers – Who are your customers? Talk about their needs, habits, expectations, and thought process.
The discovery process will help you ensure that you can validate the project requirements based on evidence. It will also allow you to look at your project from an unbiased and balanced perspective. You can evaluate your business objectives and the needs of the potential customers. You should do more than just analyze your current customers by also questioning prospective customers. Notice how they are interacting with competitors and base your analysis accordingly.
The discovery phase will include several different elements, including:
- SEO research
- User research
- Stakeholders interviews
- Analytics audits
- Wireframing and prototyping
- Competitor analysis, and more
All these things are essential if you want to lay strong strategic foundations for your project. Once you can gather the data and insights from the business and customers… move to the next step. The next step lies in you and your agency beginning to define the best possible path for achieving our business objectives. You should keep doing that while keeping in mind the expectations and needs of your customers.
#2 Definition Phase
The definition phase will bring together the stakeholders for reviewing the findings from the discovery phase. Moreover, you will be able to determine and implement the research collaboratively. You will have to come up with a data-driven strategy to:
- Detail the type of solution needed
- Prioritize the features and functionality required on the website
- Best tools and integration to use
- Success criteria
- What will be the cost?
- Timescale for delivery
Through definition and discovery, your agency will be able to define:
- What will each step in the web development process look like
- How long will each forecast take
- What will be the cost at each hurdle
Such a well-defined project plan and strategy grants you the freedom to budget and calculate the time for the business. It will also make managing the customer expectations easier should there be any downtime on our website.
Agency will also assist you in identifying the potential risks and challenges before you commence to the web development process. It will also ensure that you and your team have a thorough understanding of the customer base while it will also build up the confidence levels that you are designing a platform to give guaranteed conversions.
More often than not, web development is costly, especially when your team comes across an unexpected hurdle. The more time you give to discovery and definition process, the better results you will observe. It is the smartest way to create a website that aligns with the needs of the customers and business objectives.
