How We Build Websites

In order to make the best sites in a timely fashion, we commit ourselves to an iterative, highly-efficient, seven-phase design process. We work with our clients to create usable, accessible, and customer-centered designs.

Here is a basic overview of what it will be like to work with T2:

PHASE I: DISCOVERY

  • Initial meeting to determine the overall goal of your website. (What is the focus of your site? Why should it be built?)
  • Define the value proposition, or what you offer to your target audience.
  • T2 provides client with several analysis documents to help answers these quesitons.
  • All Search Engine Optimization planning occurs.
  • Timelines for site completion are created.

PHASE II: EXPLORATION

  • Generate and explore multiple designs to achieve site structure and navigation.
  • Create low- and medium-fidelity designs, storyboards, and schematics.
  • Using iterative designing, client is heavily involved in this early stage to help keep costs low.

PHASE III: REFINEMENT

  • After client chooses a design, T2 develops a selected idea even further.
  • Site layout, navigation, and the flow of a selected design are polished.
  • This process ends with a highly detailed prototype of a site, providing the client with high-fidelity site maps, storyboards, and schematics.

PHASE IV: PRODUCTION

  • Site is hand-coded (CSS, PHP, xHTML, etc) and the entire site is carefully pieced together, emphasizing light-weight architecture and strict, optimized code.
  • Rich media pieces (Flash movies, illustrations, custom icons, audio and video) are created, sized, and exported.
  • Photos are edited and enhanced in Photoshop.
  • Videos are imported, edited and sized with Final Cut.
  • Audio is scored, mixed, and mastered using Sibelius and Pro Tools.
  • Site is checked for consistencies between pages (color of links, positioning, color scheme, icon sizing and positioning, terminology and wording, CSS layout, typography, margins, and the like).
  • Client is provided with one or more interactive prototypes.

PHASE V: IMPLEMENTATION

  • All parts of the design come together to create a polished and fully functional website.
  • Search Engine Optimization techniques are coded into the site to maximize search engine results.
  • Check that developed web pages are compatible with web browsers, including text-only browers used by the blind.
  • Test website using different monitors, operating systems, check download speeds on different connections, run stress-tests, etc.
  • Site is gold-plated and ready for launch.

PHASE VI: LAUNCH

  • Site is rolled-out and viewable by the public.

PHASE VII: SITE MAINTENANCE

  • Content updated, continued sitewide check for active and broken links.
  • Code or bug fixes are performed.
  • Closely following site analytics, or stats, to improve search engine page ranking.
  • Periodic site backups.
  • Maintaining server logs (where people come from, what they search for, what they are doing on the site).