This entry has been floating in my head for days. A little bit of a check list, a little bit a collection of things I have to do or say repeatedly over the course of my days. A few things I want to impress on self and others. I am after all a control freak. As well as being a little bit of a developer and a little bit of a designer (I want to think). I was in reality writing a note to self. But here it is on the blog as my ideal work cycle. What I preach and try to practice sort of thing. How I try to work, so just pick and choose what’s relevant to you.
Check you have all the resources (content, images, video) for the site OR that you have a good understanding of what sort of content your site is going to have to handle. It will guide you appropriately both when you are designing the visual concept and when you are developing functionality for it.
Since there is always missing or in progress content, make sure all parties know who is responsible for these (you/the client/the team) and their estimated times and expected formats of deliverables and dates.
Also make sure who is responsible for content entry, the expected amount of content and when content entry is supposed to happen. Allocate time for it.
Review your sitemap, final visual and any content you might have and flag up any areas of the site you might need assistance with (programming, content entry, flash etc.)
Make sure you are working on the right cms (latest stable release). If in doubt check!
Make sure you have a clean cms if it is a first build OR that you have the latest database/assets from an existing site.
Make sure you know the primary domain for the site as well as any existing other domains, domains to be registered/transferred and make sure all parties know who is responsible for these as well as plan time for domain propagation etc.
Add a robots.txt on your dev space and a NOFOLLOW on your header so that the dev site wont be indexed by spiders (embarrassingly I have failed at this too many times to count)
Setup your site structure using existing page types on your dev/local site and flag up any extra page types/functionality/content types you might have to create.
Make sure you are using reset.css and build your basic CSS. Make sure you have styled your body, H1-5, p, li, td, th, ul, ol etc. EVERY PROJECT IN THE WORLD NEEDS TO HAVE THESE ELEMENTS STYLED!!!
Every single one of us builds sites our own special way, so do what you do best, rinse and repeat.
Make sure your site works and displays as intended on the production server and give it a final once over.
Test forms and mailers and confirm receipt from the people they are supposed to go to.
Sit back and relax.
PS: I’d also like to know how you do it.
PS2: All the above things have been derived by making every single mistake personally at least once.
LoL Sugar!
That’s why God invented copy paste and work’s A3 printers :P
This is a great list.
Alyways if forget something, even if i try not 2.
Might be a solution to print it and put it at the wall, as Sugar noticed :D
You forgot the last item on the list:
Feel the love
* Get a big gold star from your boss!
Nice work Maria. If only all my employees were like you :-)
Gareth
*cough* *blush*
Now I need a red theme for the website to match my face color :)
ty.
twitter is having some oauth changes, twits will appear again here shortly
Follow me on twitterI have a dream that all my websites will one day exist in a Web where they will not be judged by how they look and behave in each browser, because all browsers will follow the same standards and display them the same.
This is my hope. With this faith in Web Standards and Accessibility for all people and devices we will be able to make a better Web. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of the browsers to a beautiful symphony of design, functionality and content. With this faith we will be able to work better, to play better, to struggle less, knowing that all devices will treat our work equally & with respect.
©acidsmile (unless otherwise stated)
the views expressed throughout this site are my own
and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer
Can we tidy this up, get it on a fancy poster and sell it?
Please? I want it on my wall! :P