The image you wish to portray to the world begins to take form
with your selection of style, layout, company identity, and the
written message. In a world that values appearances this selection
process is essential. Upnorthwebs will guide and direct you towards
an appropriate company identity that will reflect your goals and
your budget.
Once the initial requirements of the site are discussed, and an
understanding of the main sections are established, then we have
the basis for the "site map". From this, an estimate for
the site can be derived, and production can begin. Our customers
are also required to make a deposit towards the production at this
point.
The first stage of development is always the graphics, or cosmetics
of the site. How will it look, respond and navigate? Preliminary
work is done on the logo as a starting point. Whether our client
has an existing logo, or we have to create one from scratch, there
is work to be done to make the logo "web ready". This
often includes embellishment to existing logos as many of them are
designed for one or two colour printing. The web is full colour,
jump off the screen, catch your attention territory. Even a company
logo must adapt to this new media. The logo is then sent online
to our customer for approval or modification suggestions. When the
logo is approved, the artist can continue designing custom navigation
menus, backgrounds, titles, etc. based on the look, feel and colours
of the logo.
After the menus and other graphics have been created for the main
page, an additional page or two will also be created to allow our
customer to see how the site navigates from page to page. After
the customer approves the "site look" and overall layout,
the web team dives into the "meat" of the site... the
content. In some cases, where database, research, photography and
other specialty services are required, this will be tackled first.
The scripting of the html pages is usually done simultaneously to
this, as forms are created for database connectivity, etc.
The customer's input in this part of the development process is
critical. Nobody knows your business or products like you do. The
more information you can provide the better. Photos, maps, text
content, brochures, logos, etc. are all requirements for most sites.
In some cases we develop all areas of the site including research,
photography, etc. but we still like to obtain as much information
from our customers as possible.
Once the site development is completed and tested, it is ready
for uploading to it's own domain and hopefully promoted. Some customers
choose to promote their sites themselves, and this can sometimes
limit the "hit" results. Upnorthwebs is set up to do search
engine optimization and banner advertising, which all help to increase
the number of hits to a site.
Upnorthwebs Web developers will design a custom, secure back-end
for your site. This allows you to securely update your site from
any computer with Internet access. Our clients have found this feature
to be a convenient but powerful resource. The Self-Maintenance Module
is a cost-effective way to ensure that your site stays current.
It means there will be no more monthly maintenance fees to keep
your site up to date. The Self-Maintenance Modules allow you to
make changes to your site without having to learn any programming
language. As easily as you use the Web to view your on-line banking,
you will find it easy and fun to make changes to your site. The
Self-Maintenance Modules put the power in your hands to attract
your important customers and Web visitors day after day. |
