Objectives
Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to complete tasks related to the following:
- Defining a project
- Interviewing a client
- Assessing a client's needs
- Developing a proposal
- Reviewing available media
- Organizing files
- Anticipating production milestones
Introduction
A majority of web projects are developed in three phases:
Pre-Production Phase—This phase includes making initial contact with your client, assessing the client's needs, and developing ideas to best present the client to the world. During the pre-production phase, you determine a budget and schedule, collect and organize the functional requirements of the website, configure a project flow chart, develop a proposal, and sign a contract with the client. This phase is covered in this chapter.
Production Phase—After the proposal to your client is accepted, you are ready to begin the production phase. In this phase, you create the assets for the website and then assemble them. With the extensive planning in the pre-production phase, the production phase should flow smoothly with a minimum of backtracking or unnecessary work. The production phase is covered in Chapters 5-9.
Post-Production Phase—The final aspect of website development is the post-production phase, which involves testing the site, making it live, and advertising it. Chapter 10, "Assembly, Testing, and Optimization," and Chapter 11, "Implementation and Hosting," covers this phase.
Each phase has many interim stages, and some stages overlap others. The entire web design process is continually evolving.
This chapter provides a sample approach of the steps involved in a typical pre-production phase. Depending on the details of a particular website project, these steps might be changed or replaced. How you handle each part of the pre-production phase impacts the final design for the website. Overall, keep in mind that successful planning during the pre-production phase is key to the successful completion of a well designed website.