Strategy
Backwards Design
The first thing that the user notices about your website — what appears in the web browser — is the last element that you will design. In that sense good web design occurs "backwards," beginning with identification of the ultimate purpose(s) of the website and working forward to the surface plane.
Rhetorical Purpose
As with any form of writing, you must consider your purpose(s) in creating the website.
Rhetorical Audience
Based on the identified purpose(s), determine who your targeted audiences are. At every level of design, your website should be tailored to the needs of those audiences to the greatest extent possible. Learn more about those needs by searching for examples of extant websites that have similar purposes and/or audiences. Depending on the nature and scope of your project, you might consider conducting formal or informal interviews, or even focus groups, to help you understand your intended users' expectations even better.
Schedule
Determine how much time you have to complete your website. Set a tentative schedule with deadlines or checkpoints for completing the project, based on your needs and/or those of your client, if applicable.
Scope
Limits
At the scope plane of website development, you determine what elements are required for the website and set parameters: What will be included, specifically, and what will not be included in the project?
Functional Requirements
What, specifically, does your website need to enable users to do in order to achieve its purpose(s)?
Content Specifications
List the text, images, and video that you will need for your website.
Tools
What software programs and other resources, electronic or otherwise, will you need to meet develop your website's functional requirements and create the necessary content? Do not forget about code editors (like Notepad++ for PCs or TextWrangler for Macs) and image editors. Be sure to consider accessibility issues; that is, you do not want to develop content in formats that will not be accessible to segments of your potential audience.
