The project phase plan is considered the backbone of a project.

The project phase in project

management will identify who will be on the project team, what tools to use, what materials
are needed, and necessary processes for efficient implementation. Also, we need the financial
commitment outlined in a budget and communication channels to keep the project team
updated. There are 6 phases in a project phase plan:
– Phase 1: Research and Strategy.
– Phase 2: Preparation of Website Outline.
– Phase 3: Information Framework.
– Phase 4: Website Designing.
– Phase 5: Construction.
– Phase 6: Migration and Launching.
Every phase has its own requirements with modest goals. In general, the 6 phases will keep
your project organized and on track from initiation to close.

Project phase 1: Research and Strategy

This phase is the preparation while project phase planning. It refers to collecting all information
related to the project and creating an outline for the project plan.

Research
The important content of the research is collecting data and analyzing data. The collection of
data is a critical step to provide all the necessary information for the project plan. The
information can be about customers, competitors, products, services, depending on the
objective of the project. Data can be collected in many ways. You can conduct a survey with
questionnaires or through observations, documents (report, document, statistic, etc) on the
internet.
Analyzing data is the final step of research. The data will be analyzed according to the project.
We should use analyzing tools to make it easier and more appropriate. The result of the
analysis will be reviewed and summarized in a manner directly related to the project plan.
Based on the findings from the research, we will make a strategy for the project plan.

Strategy
The strategy will mention the project scope, duration, and schedule of tasks, costs, and budget,
resources, ways of communication, and management of risk. A strategy will be the framework
for project implementation. It will define the business area for the project and the deployment
of resources. In a strategy, you need to create an outline of the activities, tasks, dependencies,
and timeframes. Also, the strategy will contain threats that may arise while implementing the
project. Based on the strategy, the project manager can monitor and control the project
implementation under the budget.
>> Read more: Business Planning: Strategies and Tips For Businesses of All Levels
Project phase 2: Preparation of website outline

When preparing a website outline, you need to take into the following problems. Firstly, you
need to put your main content and center. If you want to make an e-commerce site, you should
show your products, both in videos and photos. Then you have to figure out your customer
conversion funnel. This is the way you earn benefits from your customers. You need to decide
you will rely on advertising (interlink, sidebar, pop-up,…), tools (review, comparison, search,…),
or both. You also have to carefully plan the website creation, prepare the necessary
information, and make sure that you thoroughly understand the audience of your website.
There are some basic principles when preparing a website outline:
– Brainstorm ideas and note down: You should gather ideas as much as possible. They will be
the materials for you to choose what is needed for the site outline and the site-building.
– Organize the ideas: You will have to classify the ideas and group them into categories and
subcategories. From all the ideas, you will select the potential ones and analyze them. Then,
you group them into categories and subcategories. Depending on the content you will generate
from the ideas, you choose a logical approach for your website outline.
While preparing the outline, you should create a website map. A website map or a sitemap will
show how pages are organized and on how many levels on the website. This will help you in
website architecture.
>> Read more: Website planning: 10 practical steps guide for a successful website

Project phase 3: Information Framework

Information framework refers to the model and common vocabulary for all the necessary
information to implement the project. The information framework provides an off the shell
information model that is easier and more quickly accessed. With the information framework,
the project phase plan can avoid wasting development and design time. The framework also
helps to reduce integration costs by using standard information models in applications and
interfaces.
Below are some notes for you when building an information framework:
– To identify the basis of your framework: Based on the website outline, you will decide
categories of information as the basis of the framework.
– To organize the categories into a diagram: You need to create a way to represent the list
visually. You can use a simple table, timeline, or a Venn diagram. Organizing the list of
categories will provide a more engaging way to understand the content.
– To choose the suitable models: The type of model must be in terms of the type of your
website (e-commerce website, photo web, video web, blogs,…).

Project phase 4: Website Designing

After you have your website outline and information framework, you will implement phase 4 in
the project phase plant: website designing. First, you need to focus on the look of your website.
This will determine how bad or how good your website looks. There are some elements you
need to notice for the look: color, font, graphic, and content.
For the color, it will depend on your products and your target customers. Color is a crucial part
of making whether your website looks like a professional business place. The font is the look of
the text. You can choose super primo (classy) or casual or friendly. The graphic will refer to
photos and videos. For a business company, they must be of high quality and clearly show your
products/services. The content of the website must be easy to read and able to gain attention.
After the look, you need to notice the “feel” while designing the website. This will relate to the
experience of the users. The layout of the website must ensure that it is easy to use.
Information is displayed in a sensible way. Buttons are in places where customers usually
expect. Images are placed so customers could easily understand what your company is trying to
communicate without text. The navigation of the website should be as simple as possible so
that customers can find what they want and when they want. The compatibility will determine
how well your website loads and look on browsers, systems, and devices.

Project phase 5: Construction

After you have the design of the web, you will start the construction of the website. In this
phase, you will bring your design closer to reality. In this phase, you need to make sure that
your technology infrastructure and team members meet standards and requirements. Your
web designers and web developers must work well together to ensure that the website is
constructed duly and exactly like the design. Below are some notes when constructing your
website:
– Backend: This is the core structure of a website. It will determine what is your website’s
language (Java, SQL, C++, …) to collect needed information from databases, how to load a page
when clicking a button, or send a new entry from one of your contact forms to a program,…
– Frontend: This is what makes HTML, CSS, and Javascript visible to the customers. It will also
make the contact forms appear on your website in suitable fields (name, message, email fields).
Project phase 6: Migration and Launching

This is the last phase of the project phase plan. This phase brings your website into reality and
gets access to customers. Below are some notes for your website migration and launching:
– Notifying your visitors: Even though you have run a test of your website, check all the errors,
bugs, or shutdown can still arise. Therefore, you should notify your visitors to ensure they know
what to expect and when.
– Updating or migrating a little at a time: You should not migrate the entire website at one
time. After running tests, you should move your website one section at a time. It will help you
to minimize the risks of outage or issues.
– Not completing different migration types at the same time: You should separately switch
hosts and update your website’s layout. Do not do those tasks together.
– Launching or migrating during a period of low traffic: They will go smoother when you
choose a suitable time (slower part of the day or overnight for migrating). It will minimize the
loading server. Your website will be faster by search engines.
– Following a checklist: You should have a detailed checklist for the launch or migration and
follow it strictly. It will help you facilitate the process and avoid skipping crucial steps.
Conclusion

The project phase plan has many key factors and has a certain level of complexity. You will need
careful preparation for it.