1. Focus on the objective of the site. Hold a series of brainstorming sessions to vet out anything short of the true intent of the website. In other words, don’t waste time mapping design details to a Designer, or web technology details to a seasoned Web Architect. Take it from me, THEY KNOW THESE NUANCES BETER THAN YOU; if they don’t, look elsewhere! Encourage them to contribute to the need that you paid them for and retain your focus on the big picture. Always engage your teams, never dictate. With this in mind, your end result will be better than you imagined, and with a little luck, only require a series of minor tweaks to realign with your vision.
2. Seek a backend focused development team (or firm) and convey to them, with explicit detail, what data a user will expect to see when visiting the site. Obviously you wouldn’t attempt this venture unless you intended to add a degree of originality. That being said, programmers will take shortcuts when applicable (why reinvent the wheel?). They will focus on efficiency by using code out of their personal library. All data is just data to them. Allow them to utilize their tried and true code arsenal to collect and parse the data. It is in the presentation of said data that you are afforded input. Describe what needs to be available to the user and where to give it to them.
Keep the following in constant clarity:
a. Purpose and objective of the website. (e.g. You go to eBay to bid and shop)
b. What data needs to be available the user?
c. What data needs to be secured?
d. What data needs to be collected?
e. How will you extract, change and backup the data?
f. Stick to industry standard and search supported web technologies.
3. You are now ready to collaborate with the user experience team (or separate firm) with your functionally accurate, tested, ugly website, and describe how the user will ingest the data. What is the user supposed to do with the data? How will they know what options are available? Why should they use your website anyway?
Keep the following in constant clarity:
a. Purpose and objective of the website.
b. Where should the user go on the site?
c. What will the user do with the available data?
d. How will the user know what to do with the data?
e. How should the site be indexed with search engines?
f. Is the intent of the site straightforward and easy to use?
4. Now you are ready to polish the product with copy, non-navigational imagery, such as profile or product pictures etc. and the marketing campaign that most likely got you excited about the project in the first place. This is where you can add a layer of industry specific ingenuity, add your twist, flair, and engage your market with a finished solution.