Whatever it is that you are hoping to promote. What features does it have? And more importantly what benefits does it bring to your potential customer. Is there any other considerations, such as technical requirements?

NOTE this process is the most important part of the project. From this list of requirements will grow the framework and emphasis of the website or application.

Your target customer or user. What are the things that are important to them? What "style" do they respond to? Funky? Conservative? Friendly? What problems does your product, service or application solve for them? What need or want does it fulfill?

What do they do better than you? What do you do better than them? What can you offer your customers or users that they can't/don't? Why do your customers prefer to deal with you or why do they want to use your application (HINT: ask them!)? The thing that sets you apart from everybody else in your line of business.

Exactly what action do you want your site visitors to take? place an order? Join your email newsletter? Request your freebie? Generate a sales query? Run a report? They must do SOMETHING. What are the primary and secondary objectives?

How will the site be structured? What's most important or least important? How many clicks will be required to get to information. How is information best grouped?

Establish the look and feel, design the structure and navigation while complying with accepted usability standards. Incorporate the brand or look of your organization, or create a new look!

We'll create various design mockups for you and your users to test. Then we'll refine the designs even further.

You can provide it for us, or we can write it for you. We'll start with some of your existing marketing material and polish it with what we have learned from all the steps above. Then we'll read it again and fix it and polish it some more.

Then and only then does page construction and coding begin.

We test the browser compatibility, navigation, forms, links and database programming. We don't want your reputation tarnished by having your users find the problems before we do!

We'll then allow you to view the prototype site to make sure it works the way you want.

This can be as simple as creating some "tasks" for a novice user to carry out on the website or application, monitoring for problem areas, ottlenecks and confusion. Large, complex websites should invest in a detailed usability study to eliminate stumbling-blocks. The goal is to ensure a straightforward, plain-sailing website which leads your prospect directly to the response you're aiming for.

Revise where necessary as a result of the usability test and client feedback.

If the usability testing identified an issue, let's go back and resolve it. We don't want to launch a site that either you or your users are not happy with.

This is usually a short period after launch in which the client may ask for amendments (but not major changes outside of the original scope). The length of time appropriate for acceptance testing will depend on the size, complexity, and technology architecture of the web site. Bascially this will be the final check before releasing it to your users.