So, you need a website. Why is that, exactly?

The answer to that question may seem very straight forward and obvious:

• I want to write about or share an interest.
• I want to sell something.
• I want to have my resume online.

Without diving deeply into this question, you may wind up with a site that doesn't deliver what you want, or that takes a lot more effort to maintain than you thought. Regardless of the reason, your website is a reflection of you, your products, your skills. If you don't set expectations for yourself, your site, and your developer, how can this endeavor possibly succeed?

Discovery is a process between you and your developer. It should be open and honest. The developer has to know what you want in order to deliver a product that matches. You need to know what your developer's capabilities are and have confidence that your going to get what you asked for.

Here are some thoughts on Discovery:

• Your background. What led you to wanting an online presence?
• What are your goals for the site?
• Who is your audience?
• Have you thought about what it takes to maintain the site? If you're blogging, how often will you post? If you're selling something, who will enter new inventory, print shipping labels, and talk to the dissatisfied customer?
• Do you have examples of websites you like? Why do you like them?
• What assets already exist? Imagery? Example work? Descriptions? Bios? An existing website? A domain?
• What is your budget? For design? For ongoing maintenance?
• Do you want to be trained to make changes after design is complete?
• Does the developer have a process for this?
• Can the developer demonstrate capability? Is there previous work to show this?
• When do you need to go live?

This process can last an hour, or several days. Let it. By knowing what you want and why, you'll have a way to measure success when you're done.

You've just started working with a developer on your new site. It's been several days, and you're presented with an initial mock up. You hate it.

One of the funnest parts of being a developer is learning and trying new things. Nothing is set in stone. You should expect to communicate frankly and often with your developer. Changes are made. New ideas form. More changes are made. You like this part but not that.

As a developer, I expect my client to change their mind frequently. Things you tried and didn't like, you may go back to. You might get half way done and need to start completely over. The steady flow of communication helps both the developer and the client better understand where to go.

If your developer expects you to know exactly what you want at the beginning of the process, you need to find another developer. Ideas beget ideas. Make that process work for you.

You're ready to go. Your site is up. The world can see.

Launching your website is a great milestone. It's also the right time to take another look at the Discovery process and make sure your site reflects you and the goals you set. There will be fine tuning. More iteration.

There are a number of things to wrap up:

• Are you going to self-maintain? If so, do you need any training?
• Whether you have a WordPress site, or a custom site, there will be updates. Templates and Plug-ins for WordPress are frequently updated. Server software will be revised. HTML, CSS, JavaScript are all in constant development. How will you become aware of these changes and keep your site humming smoothly?
• If you're blogging, can you maintain the addition of new content? How many times have you visited a web blog, and the last post is 3 years old? Perhaps you need to adjust to a quarterly update. Say so on your site to set some expectations. Or maybe you decide not to blog at all.
• Domain names typically expire. Do you know how to renew?
• You allow comments on your Products or Posts. It's filling up with spam. Do you know why and what to do about it?

The list above is not meant to scare you into a long term contact with a developer. In fact, my current clients are self-maintaining. Educating yourself on these topics will allow you to make better choices about how to maintain your site, and keep you and your site in front of the world with minimal fuss.

Let me know how I can help!