Project Timeline
The timeline below shows the order of the different stages of web development, as well as how much time we spent on each. We understood that to make a good website before regionals, we needed to manage our time well, and plan ahead for each step. We also knew that proper documentation was necessary for success.
Brainstorming
Before we started, we wanted to have an idea of what to show on our website, and the basis of how we wanted it designed. This stage included reviewing the theme and deciding what information we wanted to include based off that.
Choosing a Name
This was actually the most difficult part, as we spent multiple days trying names, until we found the perfect one. It ended up being that most were already taken, or not available as a .com. The reason we were set on a .com was so that we could look professional, and that we would stand out.
Header Creation
Header creation involved using WordPress, as well as the Elementor plugin, to design a set of links to each of our website's many pages. We also wanted to build our logo into the header, as this is common with many websites today.
Page Layout
Deciding on a page layout not only helped to complete the header, but it also helped us to decide how we would design our home page. The home page had sections that linked to each other page, so page layout and home page layout were linked from the start.
Home Page Design
The home page took up most of our time, when compared to the other stages. We went through many different versions of the page, and finally decided on using a fixed background, and mini-sections that had buttons linking to the other pages of the website.
Branch Pages Design
"Branch Pages" refers to all of the other pages in the website, except the design brief. The combined time for all of the branch pages was about the same as the home page, as we simply elaborated and added detail to the mini-sections we already had on the home page.
Design Brief
The design brief, while not a part of the main website, is still a key part. It includes all documentation, such as copyright, attributions, research, work log, and even research. We spent about a week or two on this, though we took some time off around Christmas.
Footers
We started by creating one default footer for the main pages of the website, however we realized we had to create new footers for the design brief pages, as their backgrounds were different at the bottom of the page. In total, we have 5 footers, 1 default, and 4 custom for the design brief pages.
Add Additional Features
This is sort of a miscellaneous section. During this time, we ensured tablet compatibility, as well as adding additional text and information to our branch pages.
Fix Known Issues
This included fixing misaligned sections, overly large images in the headers, and other such issues.
Final Sweep of Website
This was our final checkover of the website, to make sure there were no issues, such as grammar and spelling, visual bugs, or broken buttons.
Submit Finished Project
Work Times
To the right is a pie chart that shows how much time we spent on each stage (as a percentage of total time)