Site Development

Now it is time to actually build the site. There are two major steps during this stage:

1. Technical/Functional Plan
2. Build and Integrate the Site

1. Technical/Functional Plan

   Start by reviewing the Project Brief, Site Structure and Visual Design and confirm that everything is in alignment and supports the overall project goals and needs. Next, set the technical/functional specifications for the site:

   Target Technical Specs - what browsers, OS, resolution and connection speeds will you target.

   1. Browsers* - what browsers will you target? see UT's web guidelines on browsers
   2. Operating Systems* - Mac, Windows, Other?
   3. Display Resolution* - what is the screen resolution the site will be designed for? what other screen resolutions will be supported gracefully?
   4. Connection Speed* - what is expected connection speed for your primary users, what other connection speeds will you target?
   5. Page Download Size -
      • 30K and under
      • 30-80k (typical page)
      • 80-100k (graphic heavy)
      • 100k+ (not recommended unless all users are high-bandwidth)

   * For the latest information see:

   • Browser, platform and display resolution statistics
   • Connection Speed

   Functional Specs - what functionality does your site require? Use of W3C web standards is recommended to insure that your site pursues the goals of web for everyone and web on everything.

   • CSS
   • Flash
   • (X)HTML version
   • JavaScript
   • Rich Media (video, audio)
   • Search - htdig and google at UT
   • Secure Credit Card Transactions
   • Backend Technologies (database, cgi, CMS, personalization, login)
   • Web Analytics - Urchin Statistics for your site at UT

   Project Plan - review your original timeline and the technical and functional specs you've just established. Do you have the resources you need to complete the project on time and within budget? Refine and add details to the project plan you drafted during the Project Definition Stage. Your project plan should now include a detailed list of concrete tasks, assignments, target dates and dependencies between tasks.

2. Build and Integrate the Site

   Finally! Time to turn all this planning into reality! The steps include:

   Build templates using web standards

   • CSS - separate presentation from content
   • (X)HTML - use valid (X)HTML
   • Javascript - add light scripting, make sure to degrade gracefully and maintain accessibility
   • Optimize - optimize images, css and (x)html
   • Run initial tests on templates

   Create Pages

   • Pour content into templates
   • Establish method for content contributors to review, update and add content

   Backend Development

   • Code dynamic features of the site that require database/cgi and integration like:
     • search
     • personalization/login
     • secure transactions
     • web analytics