Resources & Tools

This resources page is an accompaniment to the Golden Oak Web Design 5 Step Process for all new web design and development projects. The tools, articles, and third-party links on this page are suggested for each project step. In other words, these resources individually offer a unique solution to help get the project to the finish line. Our goal is that this resources page will serve as a roadmap for your success!

Step 1: Planning

The first step of the web design and development project involves doing research and discovery, creating content, and organizing the content. We will discuss your options and examine different web design frameworks and WordPress themes. You will receive a spec sheet from us which will contain the domain and hosting company information, the WordPress plugins that we plan to use, the project scope, and the work schedule.

You will need to have your content completed and ready to give to us before moving forward. The content includes the logo, page copy, and images. This information can be given to us via Dropbox, Google Drive, and e-mail.

Step 2: Design

The second step of the project involves designing the website and is divided into 5 parts:

  1. Typography
  2. Colors
  3. Design Elements
  4. Sitemap
  5. Wireframe

Discussing the fonts, design elements, color scheme (color palette), and menu structure (sitemap) that are going to be used for the project gives us an understanding of your business or brand. We will use this information to design a comprehensive layout (comp) for you to approve. Depending on the type and complexity of the web design project, we may first create a website wireframe.

Step 3: Development

Once we know how the website will look and have a clear plan for it, we will begin the development step of the project. This may take some time depending on what features are being created or implemented.

Step 4: Quality Assurance & Testing

The work that we’ve done has been kept on a hosting account that is not visible by anyone or by search engines. This allows us to test the website extensively to ensure that all goals are met. Only you will be able to see the work that’s been completed and test the website.

Step 5: Launch

When you are satisfied with the work completed and ready to launch the website, we will move the website to your hosting account and make it visible on the internet. During this step of the project, we will set up the website security and firewall plugin, backup plugin, cache plugin, SEO plugin, and other utility plugins. We will also integrate Google Analytics and the Google Search Console. Finally, we will test the speed of the website using a third-party online tool.