Production The devil is in the details.
Once you've set your goals for the site, determined its architecture and navigational system, approved the look and feel, written the copy and planned the features... the actual production work can begin. Production will invariably involve preparation of graphics and possibly animation, custom scripts and programs, forms, etc. These need to be created and tested, first locally if possible, then on a staging server and finally on the actual server that will host your site. It takes time to code, recode, test, hyperlink, test, program, test, transfer files and test again. Not only does your site have to work according to plan, it has to work in multiple browsers including Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc.
Allow adequate time for the testing process, it is critical to success. The reality of production is, that when the pixels hit the processor things change. Your site may not work or look exactly as you anticipated for a variety of reasons, but remain flexible and don't lose site of your goal. Just like film production, your site plan is a script, not a blueprint.
When all is done, approved and applauded, it is ready for launch and the next stage in development... marketing.
STEP 6: Marketing
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