Web Development

It's a process...

Raven Creative's web solutions can start from a blank page or a detailed client-provided spec and develop gracefully into a site that matches the needs of your company or project.
Rather than list a bunch of obscure technical details though, and possibly some math, let's walk through the steps below and see all the nifty things Raven can do in the context of our process.
“Try not. Do...or do not.
  There is no try.”
— Yoda (cool, right?)

1. Discovery & Goals

OK, so you wrote an idea down on a napkin, or in an e-mail, or perhaps some napkin-based email, and now you want to turn that into a site or maybe an infographic. Can do. 
Or, maybe you have some wireframes, other sites you like or even a detailed spec from a design firm if for some odd reason you don't want Raven to design the site. Fine with us.
However we get the information, our job is to learn what you want to accomplish so we can concoct some awesome scheme to make it work. Honestly, we sometimes surprise ourselves here.

2. Strategy & Information Architecture

Think of a person dropped into any part of your content (via a link someone gave them, a Google search, etc.). Information Architecture (IA) is how we map their way out from there. It's the “where and why” of navigating information spaces that helps users make their way among myriad content types such as searchable databases, table-based reports, PDF libraries, forms, infographics, plain old text. A site or infographic without proper IA is the equivalent of a Tag Sale Today sign with no date. 

Information architecture in any site should bring as much content as possible to the surface. As part of the IA process, Raven will review available site content, advise on organization and composition, and plan a hierarchical site map that leaves ample opportunities for lateral and non-linear movement through the site (via search functions, intra-page navigation tabs, related links, etc.). The result? 360 degrees of access to your content.

• Keep it simple.
• Think like a user.
• Provide context.
• Provide 360° of  access.

3. Wireframing & Design

Design is the byproduct of everything above, each step helping to turn ideas into visuals that engage your users. It's an iterative process we follow with you, starting with wireframes for structure before moving on to full-scale designs.
But it's not all mechanical. Sometimes strategy comes simply from inspiration ("It just looks right.") and that's fine too. Even inspiration can be guided by the rules of best practices. Regardless of method, the result is a design that works for you and for your audience.
Once look and feel is settled, we turn those mockups into an overall template identity for your site, one that is complete enough to cover current content needs (home, section, articles, search, etc.) but flexible enough to expand and morph as your needs do, such as mobile applications.

4. Implementation

Here is where we usually lose people, eyes glaze over, boredom sets in. We are past the flashy part of our process and into the "get it done" mode. But this is actually still a cool part of the project. It's where we install the CMS on your server or ours (VM, dedicated, shared, awesomely maintained and managed). It is where we code the templates and any special functions using the latest techniques in CSS, HTML5, jQuery, JavaScript, PHP. It is where simple words strung in a row tell your story, layer after layer, describing your page and giving it a form/structure that will work in all the modern browsers, tablets, smart phones, and whatever may come next.

5. Launch & Ongoing Support

So your amazing new site (or infographic or mobile app or whatever...How should we know? You haven't called yet. Why haven't you called? You said you'd call!) is all ready and completed on time and on budget (as usual). All the proverbial T's crossed and I's dotted. Well done team client and Raven. Now, we just need to launch it. Given Raven's experience building, hosting, and managing sites (both small and giant) ongoing, that's a gimmee.

And it doesn't need to end there. Raven can help with ongoing changes, design new features, add content, design graphics, host/maintain/monitor the site 24/7/365 and more. We can also train your team to update and manage the site on their own.

 

• Goals achieved
• On-budget/on-time
• Still friends at end of project
• Room to grow/evolve
• Long-term partner in place
• World, your oyster