Website Redesign Process

Detailed Overview of my session and why attendees will be excited to hear about it!

Website Redesign Process

I have joined companies at different stages of their website redesign lifecycle – I have joined in middle of the project, towards the end and even towards the very beginning.  Each of the redesigns has taken a different path as to how best achieve the same result.  Yet the common theme that all have is CONFUSION!!

Where should a developer begin in the website redesign process?

What should the team look like? If I am the only developer doing this all (oh no!! ) what should I do – where should I begin?

Business keeps changing the scope; the stakeholders don’t know what they want? They want it yesterday and also please keep our current site changes on track.

What should the estimates look like? How do you solve a problem like Maria(She is form Marketing)? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? (Marketing wants) How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand? (CEO’s expectations)

Having been through all this, I came up with few basic rules and processes which should be part of the foundation for developers to plan for a website redesign.

Website redesign process should start with a thorough discovery phase. If you are fortunate to have a good budget and can hire and expert you have a head start. For the rest of us the CMO expects the developer(s) to come up with wireframes – a new look depending on what the stakeholders or business wants. If that’s the case, then what should us developer do and how should he/she come up with what the current website lacks and what the new website should focus on. The answer to this lies in the proper use of Google analytics. When properly utilized Google analytics will guide you through what is working and what is not so that you can close in to the exact answer. Identify the top 10 components/pages/widgets which drive your website. 

Now it’s time to tour your competitors site with your marketing and business team and inspire them and thus guide them through the selection of what they like and what they don’t in the competitors site. Make notes and notes and notes!!

Now with a list of what currently works and what the team needs in hand you have the tools to reach to the next point: Wireframes.

So how is your theming skill? Now not all backend developers have the extra skill of doing wireframes and in designing them. That’s really a front-end developers part.  For a successful project launch, its very important to have a themer/Front end designer who can developer mockups one at a time. At minimum this skill set is needed in the project and if not available it must be purchased or learned. Now its time for mockups to be created/developers and back and forth with the team until they are fully satisfied and they are signed off by all the stakeholders. That’s when the estimation of the project begins. Throw in a completion-by-date (deadline) that the executives want/need and you have the info needed to start estimating.

There are a lot of other items to take into consideration too; like is this adaptive site or responsive? What theme are you going to choose? What about content-migration? We will talk more about this all too.

Project would now entail taking the front ends and making drupal match what was rendered by the front-end developer. And that is what you estimate. Each component of the website should be estimated and put in 3 different categories – Medium, high and low where you can put your estimated numbers for each of this category.  Now you have a list where there might be 12 High components, 10 low and 5 medium. This path will allow you to identify the components and assess them and their importance and complexity and thus help you to estimate the website redesign.

Why attendees will be excited to hear about this topic:

Since drupal is big in website world and websites keep changing due to technology and competition, its very important for any developer to understand this process and be able to participate or lead it with a comfort gained form understanding. If you are a drupal developer long enough, you must have gone through this confusion already or will one day! That’s why sit back and get some nuggets from this session!

What will attendees take back:

Clarity will be gained, comfort with a process that will lead to success and yes lots of confusion and fear will be resolved J You will gain knowledge of definitive steps to follow in various scenarios of website redesign  as a developer as well as a Project Manager.

What level of knowledge should attendees have before walking into your session:

Beginners - Intermediate