Continuing with the course project you started in Week 1, this week, you will continue working on the solution you have envisio

Offex Corporate Website Development Phases

One of the most critical activities in any business is the initiation of projects and their implementation. Projects not implemented for the sake of fun but to offer a solution to some critical business needs(“Web Design Process in 8 Phases – Web Design Made Easy,” n.d.). There must be a driving force behind any project in a business organization, and just like in any other business, Information Technology projects are very risky, and therefore proper planning and care should be taken. If a project is poorly planned, the chances are that it will fail to meet the objectives and the budget might not cover it all which means that the project might not get to completion(Contributor, 2014). All the stakeholders in a business project should ensure that they plan the object to deliver it within the allocated deadline and the cost constraints. It is, therefore, necessary to analyze all the requirements in building a website for Offex Corporate which is business located in Boston and the sale of office equipment. The website aims to increase the visibility of the company by exploiting the internet of things.

Crucial Phases in Developing Offex Limited Website

In this section, the various phases in the development of a cost-effective website for Offex Limited will be discussed.

A. Gathering Information

In this stage, a discovery of the main goals, the purpose, and research of the target audience should be completed. It is the initial stage which means that it defines the scope of all the other steps and therefore ranks as the most critical phases in the development of a business website. The phase gives a clear understanding of the reasons why the website should be developed, its primary goals and the intended audience. The use of questionnaires helps in this stage as it helps in coming up with strategies for the development of the project. The final delivery in this stage is a detailed plan for how the site will be developed and how the company will save from spending extra money and resources(Contributor, 2014). The purpose of the deliverable in this stage is to ensure that there are no unexpected changes in the course of completing the project.

B. Planning Phase

In this stage, sitemaps and frameworks are provided to offer the company with an opportunity of seeing how the full website will operate after completion. The sitemap is developed using the information collected in the initial phase, and the final deliverable is a sitemap and a framework that describes how the final product will be usable important to the company.

C. Design Phase

In these phases, the best layout for the company's website decided on, and all the visual elements such as graphics created. While in the process of design, the designer should have the target audience and the information collected in the first stage in mind. At the end of this stage, a layout of the website will be provided in sketch format that shows all the contents covered in the website. The sketch gives an understanding of how the entire site will look like and how it will work because it shows all colors and graphics amongst other features.

D. Web Content and Assembly

This phase involves putting into writing all the information the company wishes to communicate to its audience. It requires catchy headings, new text and the primary deliverable in this stage is content in any form and explanation on where it should be placed in the site.

E. Coding

In this stage, the website is developed, and all the elements defined before added to their actual position. The first step in the coding stage is the creation of the homepage and the final deliverable in this stage is web pages that can be tested for functionality.

F. Testing, Reviewing and Launching of the Website

This stage involves testing everything that has been created to confirm that there is no broken link anywhere. It also helps in checking for mistakes in spellings among others. In a nutshell, the phase involves checking that all web pages are working as it planned in the planning stage.

G. Maintenance

The phase involves hosting the website and keeping it in touch with the client to ensure that everything works as correctly and that the client is satisfied. The developer should be ready to make any changes demanded(“Web Design Process in 8 Phases – Web Design Made Easy,” n.d.). Deliverables in this stage is a document that explains how the site works and how to fix possible problems(“Grant-Writing-Training-Manual.pdf,” n.d.).

References

Contributor, G. (2014, July 28). 8 Phases of the Web Design Process. Retrieved October 25,

2018, from http://www.printmag.com/featured/phases-of-the-web-design-process/

Grant-Writing-Training-Manual.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://sites.ed.gov/aapi/files/2015/08/Grant-Writing-Training-Manual.pdf

Web Design Process in 8 Phases – Web Design Made Easy. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2018,

from https://inspiredcreatives.studio/8-phase-web-design-process/