Project Management
You give the client his/her first look into how efficiently we work, how detail-oriented we are, and how we always aim to capture the vision and essence of each school or organization. The role of the project coordinator is vital to keeping the project on track in order to deliver a finished product that the client loves.
School Webmasters can develop a website from start to finish in 4-6 weeks, though client delays are common. You will need to keep the process as painless as possible for the client but also regularly send gentle reminders to the client if key elements are missing.
It’s also important to know where the project is in the development process at all times and to send the client regular/periodic encouraging updates about the development of their new website.
The pages in this section will give you the information you need to successfully coordinate and manage the development process to keep everything moving seamlessly from project initiation to new website launch.
Website Development Process Overview
Who Does What and When?
The main players on the development team are as follows:
Project Coordinator (PC)
Graphic Designer (GD)
Copywriter (CW)
Content Updater (CU)
Graphic Updater (GU)
User Interface Designer (UI)
As these people complete their work, it is checked by the department supervisor.
Project Coordinator
The PC meets with the client to discuss their goals and vision then works to collect all of the necessary information for developing the website and disseminates it to the development team members. The PC keeps track of the project schedule and helps make sure everybody meets their deadlines and that the project progresses as quickly and as smoothly as possible. The PC maintains constant communication with the customer and the development team.
Graphic Designer
At the beginning of the project, the GD designs the website and creates a prototype (both Home and secondary pages) for client approval. Upon approval, the GD saves the concept to the drive in a .PSD file. He/She also saves the specific fonts to the client’s folder.
Copywriter
The CW creates a sitemap for client approval. Upon approval, the CW writes the pages of the website. Custom websites include completely custom copy, while template projects use some template/boilerplate copy. The CW is responsible for every word that will end up on the site (including sidebar links and graphic quotes). The CW also enters the information into the quicklinks and contacts Google sheets.
Content Updater
Upon approval of the design prototype and completion of the copy, the CU creates the pages of the website and transfers the written content, including links, to the new website. The CU loads the .CSV files for the staff lists, FAQs, and quick links. The CU also includes any notes from the CW to other members of the team.
Graphic Updater
The GU adds graphic elements to the website. Such elements include header photos, buttons, slideshows, graphic quotes, sidebar photos, etc.
User Interface Designer
The UI designer makes the color, logo, and school name changes in the template websites and creates the assets from the design prototype in custom sites. UI adjusts navigation styling, adds the favicon, keywords, and descriptions, and links to social media pages. After the CU has added the content and GU has added the page graphics, UI checks the components for accuracy, running the CSS through the validator and specific pages through the wave report, styles the contact pages (including the pop-up profiles), creates the Trumba calendar, and more. In a nutshell, UI makes sure everything is styled and appears as it should.
After Development
After the website has been created and the steps above are complete, it’s time for a thorough proofing of the site.
PC Check
The PC will do a quick double-check to see that all previously agreed upon aspects of the website were taken care of and that any last minute information the client may have sent was included.
Site Proofing
A final site proofer and supervisors check to be sure everything is perfect both content-wise and graphically— that there are not typos or misspellings and all links are working correctly and that nothing is off even a pixel.
CU, GU, and UI fix anything called out by those checking the new website.
Send the Final Website to the Client
The PC sends the temporary link to the finished website to the client along with a warm hand-off e-mail introducing the client to the update process through the customer support portal. The PC will create a “new site live” flyer (use .psd file – link in sidebar) to send to the client to help them publicize their new website.
Client Changes/Updates
If the client would like to see some changes on the site, even before it goes live, they should submit their requests through the update portal for our team of content updaters to take care of.