Traditional Website Development Process
In traditional website production, design takes precedence over content:
- Plan and develop goals for the website (audience, message, design considerations, structure, etc.)
- Create one or more design ideas for review and select the final design.
- Implement the design in web software.
- Create and add content to the website.
- Review the content online.
- Launch the website.
- Market the website.
- Track, evaluate, and maintain the website.
There is a major flaw in this process: The design is already set before the content is created.
Content creation tends to be a dynamic process; new ideas arise, old ideas are discarded, priorities shift, and the concept and direction of the website crystallizes and clarifies. Unfortunately, by this time the design of the website is already established. Either the design must be changed to accommodate the content, leaving the site unbalanced, or the content must be abandoned, leaving the site anaemic.
Additionally, since content creation is by far the most critical and time-consuming part of the process, leaving it until after the design is complete often results in delays.