What do I mean by "all-in-one" web development?
I know a lot of people that are web designers. I also know a lot of web developers. It's difficult sometimes to classify myself as either one. I certainly feel like that is plenty of room for improvement in all areas. For the most part, I handle all of my websites totally alone. There are times when a client has provided preliminary designs or wireframes. Sometimes they know exactly what they want. I'd say 75% of the time, clients just know they need a website, and that is as far as they've gotten. They don't know what to call it, what domain name they want, or what they want it to look like.
My job then becomes figuring out all of their complete needs. From the websites beginning to it's launch, I handle everything. You never have to deal with another vendor, designer, or developer. I am a one-stop-shop for all website needs. Below you'll find a brief outline of my process and what is involved in each phase.
My job then becomes figuring out all of their complete needs. From the websites beginning to it's launch, I handle everything. You never have to deal with another vendor, designer, or developer. I am a one-stop-shop for all website needs. Below you'll find a brief outline of my process and what is involved in each phase.
During this phase, I usually meet with the client (via phone call, Skype, or in person) and find out what they want. Usually the client knows they need a website, but they just don't know what the next step is. That's where I come in. I find out how large of a site they need and plan out all of the moving parts of the site. Within a week of the initial discussion about the site, I can deliver a document that lays out all of the pages and phases of development.
At the end of this phase, I send a scope of work and a contract to review.
At the end of this phase, I send a scope of work and a contract to review.
This is honestly my favorite part of development. It's where all of the magic happens. I get to design the site, decide on hosting packages, install a Content Management System (CMS), if the site calls for that, and then do all of the programming. During this phase, we get to be creative and decide which elements in the website can be animated, change color when you hover over them, and what kind of graphics we can use throughout the website. I use jQuery, HTML5, and CSS3 to do all of the fun stuff that people love about websites.
I usually recommend that clients use the Drupal CMS for their website needs because it is so flexible. Wordpress CMS is also another good option and there are literally millions of themes that I can customize for you.
I usually recommend that clients use the Drupal CMS for their website needs because it is so flexible. Wordpress CMS is also another good option and there are literally millions of themes that I can customize for you.
After the development is done, and all of the content is prepared, the site is ready to be launched. The last stage of development is always very tedious and careful. I look over the site hundreds of times, making sure there are no issues anywhere. I also cross browser test the website in Internet Explorer (7,8,9,10), Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Quality Assurance takes a lot of time but will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.
When the site goes live, and everything is working great, I will prepare a tutorial on how to use your website. Sometimes these can be very technical if it is a very large website. Also included is a small style guide with the colors and fonts of the website defined. The last and final part of this phase includes search engine optimization (SEO).
When the site goes live, and everything is working great, I will prepare a tutorial on how to use your website. Sometimes these can be very technical if it is a very large website. Also included is a small style guide with the colors and fonts of the website defined. The last and final part of this phase includes search engine optimization (SEO).
So there you have it! A complete outline of an all-in-one development process. If there ever comes a time that I can't do part of the development on my own, then I simply outsource that slice of the project. But so far, that hasn't happened and all of my clients have been happy with the final outcome. Sure there is room for improvement in some areas, but I do pride myself on knowing how to get a website up and running from beginning to end and everything in between.
