When you choose to build your website with Aquaman, this is what will happen, but not necessarily exactly in this order:
As with any project there is an initial period of consultation. With a website this will largely involve making a personal visit to discuss your requirements. This may take an hour or two as there can be a lot to discuss. You can be prepared by having some initial thoughts on the aim of your site, what you want your site to look at, and perhaps what pages are going to be essential to the users experience when they visit your site.
The research may just be looking at sites of a similar nature, but even so this can help to build the foundation for your site as to what is the best layout and the best look. It may be finding ways of improving your site's functionality.
Choosing and Preparing Resources
This step can happen right from day one and can go on past the site's actual launch. This may include the preparation of logos, creation of graphics or the optimisation of supplied images. Images can come from different sources. We are happy to carry out a small photo session as part of our basic package. We can also help you select and source stock images. Stock images are images created by photographers and artists and are sold through a stock image agency. A small fee is usually payable for each image. If you have images of your own then we can prepare these for use on the site.
It is usual at this stage to start to prepare mock-ups of the site. This may start as hand drawings, but will progress to a Photoshop layout. Several versions may be created and will then be presented to you for discussion and approval.
Identify Keywords and Phrases
The most important part of your site is the content. The content is the information you want to tell your visitor about. Before writing your content there are a couple of steps you should do first. The first is to figure out what keywords and search terms internet users might use if they were searching for a site just like yours. For most sites there are a several dozen possibilities as well as putting words in a different order to say the same thing. For example if you were looking for this site, you might enter into the search box "website design in Matlock Derbyshire" or you might enter "web design in Matlock Derbyshire" or "Aquaman website designer" or "Aquaman web design".
Now we're not saying that this is the best tool, but it is free. Google has what's known as a Keyword Tool. When you type your phrases into this tool it will return the number of searches for your phrases there are every month. Using this list, its then best to write down the top five phrases that return the highest number. This list is important when it comes to writing the content.
Writing the content can be one of the most difficult parts of creating a website. When writing the content its good to have the keyword list close to hand as it is important to work the keywords and phrases into the content. The keywords and phrases that returned the highest results when using the keyword tool are the ones that should be focused on the most.
We find, with a little guidance, its best for the client to write their own content. After all you know your business better than we do. You know what your customers will want to hear. However, if you don't feel writing the content then we are happy to provide this as an extra service.
Choose and order a domain name and hosting package
Your domain name is the name you will call your site, eg the domain name for this site is "aquamandesign". There are a number of theories on the best domain names. Including the nature of the business in the name can help with rankings in search engines results. Another common dilema is whether to choose a .com or a .co.uk or any other suffix. If you are a UK company selling predominantly to customers in the UK, then you are advised to select a .co.uk name. This again will help when customers from the UK are carrying out UK based searches.
All websites need to be placed on a server somewhere. When you buy your domain name the server details for the domain also get registered. When a user inputs your domain name your browser looks up where the domain is and will then begin to communicate with the server and consequently downloads the website files to your computer.
Aquaman is not a domain name registrar nor a hosting company. If you haven't already got a domain name and or hosting account we can direct you to some very good and responsible suppliers. If you have already got a domain name and hosting then we simply need access details to begin working on your site.
Build the framework of the site through the use of templates and style sheets
Once all the research has been done and the mock-up has been approved its time to start construction. As with any construction the better the planning beforehand the better the construction will be for its purpose.
In this stage a template file will be built, setting out the areas of each webpage. Generally a website will be formed on a single template, but it is possible to create more than one template for a single site - this may be necessary if there are different areas that need to be given their own identity.
The look of the template is controlled by the use of what's know as a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS). Where the template tells your browser the order in which elements will appear, the style sheet controls how those areas will look. So in many cases the entire website is controlled in the main by two key documents.
Add the Content Management System
Content Management Systems are becoming more and more common in website construction. To be effective, a content management system requires the site to be built using a template and a style sheet. It also relies on a server based database. The database holds the site's content. When a user clicks on a link on a page, the page is constructed instantly using the template for the layout, the styles sheet for the look and the database for the content.
The content itself is controlled through a normal web browser. New content can be written, images and other media files can also be added. More and more customers are searching for this type of solution. The CMS used by Aquaman is free as it is OpenSource software, however, it should be pointed out that some training will be required to ensure correct use of the CMS system.
Even if you opt to let Aquaman do your content management for you, we will still add the CMS. There are two reasons for this. Firstly it makes it easier for us to update it, and secondly you might change your mind and decide you do want to update your site yourself.
The great thing about CMS is that it makes it easy to add functionality to your site. Do you need a shopping cart, a calendar or upcoming events information, a forum, a Google ma, a photo gallery, a video gallery. Using a CMS makes it easy to add these kinds of functions to your website and ultimately making for a better visitor experience.
Once the structure and modules are in place, we can add the content.
Make adjustments as required
All sites need a little testing and adjustment. Change postitions, change content, make corrections. Check compatibility with different browsers and devices. It all happens in this stage.
Search Engine Optimisation
The one thing everybody wants to know is how you get the site listed in Google. Getting listed is not the holy grail it sounds like, but depending on the type of business you're in getting ranked highly against your immediate competitors is. High rankings is what might be termed as the "long game". It may seem like a black art (for some it is), but there are many tricks and tips on how to do get to the top. Fortunately, we have the tools to help get you started.
With all our packages we will carry out the following free of charge. We will set your page addresses to be Search Engine Friendly. We will register and verify your site with Google. We will create a .xml sitemap and register that with five search engines including Google, Yahoo, and Ask.com. We will automatically add descriptions to the metadescription tags of your pages. We will add Google Analytics tracking code to allow you to track the visitors to your site.
Make future updates to the site or provide training in the use of the Content Management System
Finally once your site is up and running, there is usually the need to keep it updated. Using a content management system makes this process a lot simpler, however some training may be required to ensure its correct use.
Alternatively, you can simply opt to let Aquaman manage your content. This is an extra service and is charged as and when you need to change the content. Alternatively we can arrange a contract to run over a period of time if you intend to be carrying out regular updates and changes.
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Design Stages
