Documentation forms an important part of the development and maintenance of websites.
You need to document all stages of the development process so that:
- You can keep track of it all.
- You can get your ideas across to others incolved in the process.
Development documentation is useful for those who maintain websites.
- They can study the documentation to get a grasp on the website's goals and functionality.
- Because maintenance may involve making changes this also needs to be documented so that anyone joining the team can quickly become familiar with the current state of the site.
Some of the documentation that is commonly included in the website development process is explained further in the sections on the menu above. You will also find the Design section useful.
Documentation Structure
Below is a useful documentation report structure based on the information in the Design and Documentation sections of this site.
1 Goals
2 User Experience
2.1 Audience Definition
2.2 Scenarios
2.3 Competitive Analysis Summary
3 Site Content
3.1 Content Grouping and Labelling
3.2 Functional Requirements
4 Site Structure
4.1 Site Structure Listing (or Summary)
4.2 Architectural Blueprints (Site Map)
4.3 Global and Local Navigation Systems
5 Visual Design
5.1 Layout Grids
5.2 Wireframes
5.3 Design Sketches
5.4 Page Mock-ups (Storyboards)
5.5 Web-based Prototype
Appendix A: Client/User Analysis Questionnaire
Appendix B: Competitive Analysis
Appendix C: Content Inventory
Appendix D: Site Structure Listing (optional)