What steps are involved in developing a website?

In our experience, developing a site can be divided into five steps or phases, including 1) Content, an initial content package; 2) Design, the architecture of the site; 3) Development, creation of pages, posts, images, code, etc.; 4) Prototype, a run of the first draft site from the staging server, sometimes minus big sub-sections, e.g., video, followed by revisions or additions going back to Development, Design, and Content phases for more work; and 5) Launch. After Launch, the site moves into recurring site administration for analysis and updates. There’s a more detailed description of our Design and Development process and the tools we use here.