TriangleParkCreative
Website design for a better world
Y ou know you
need a new
website. You may
or may not know what
the website should
say, what it should let
users do, how it should
integrate with your
in-office technology and
staff work requirements,
or how it should be
organized.
Triangle Park Creative’s
web development process
meets you where you are
and helps explore the right
questions before we start
building. So that’s how we can
build a site that meets your
needs and creates opportunities for the future.
The up-front work Site discovery is perhaps the most crucial though
least visible part of the process. During discovery,
we meet with your stakeholders to gather input
in order to develop an understanding of both
your organization and what your site can do for it.
We then formulate our understanding into a
draft site map, which is revised until it accurately
illustrates the flow of
information that will
meet the needs we have
identified.
Once that site map is done,
the site content is gathered
or created to fulfill the site
map. We can work
with you to develop
your content if you
prefer. It’s important
to create the site
content at this point
because it’s a reality
check on the structure
— it may have
seemed like a good
idea to have seven
pages in one section,
but when it comes time to write the copy, maybe
only five are really needed.
With the site map and content in hand, we create
a “wireframe” for the site, which gives an even
better idea of what the pages will be like. The
wireframe is a chance to explore the information
flow of the pages and spot areas that need
additional elements in order to be as usable as
possible.
Your website houses your brand.
Give it a good home. Plan well.
Some examples of things a site can do for your community:
• register people for events (paid or free)
• take donations
• allow for social networking among members
• register volunteers
• play video or audio files
• provide directories of locations or services, with Google maps to each
• allow for timely event calendars that automatically unlist events when they are completed
• list news and press releases, with an automatically generated archive
• display photo galleries
• include blogs or discussion forums
site map wireframe (one page from the document) finished homepage
Once the wireframe is completed, our
interface designers apply what we’ve
learned about you to make the site look
like home. Then, our in-house develop-
ment team begins the work of bringing it
all to life on the world wide web.
How our websites workWe build sites that meet current web
standards, based in an open source content
management system called Drupal.
Why should you care about web
standards? Well, generally, you don’t have
to, because we take care of that. But what
it gets you is a site that is fast, search-
engine-friendly, more accessible, and
more likely to be compatible with future
web browsers and technologies. Not to
mention usable on the increasing number
of smart phones and PDAs your users are
likely to have.
Using a content management system
such as Drupal allows you to easily publish,
manage and organize a wide variety of
content without the need for any special
software—just access to the Internet
and a web browser. An international
community of expert individuals and
organizations has been actively and
continuously developing Drupal for
over seven years, and it has become the
web platform of choice for an increasing
number of major publications and
institutions worldwide.
Best of all, Drupal is open source, which
means that you’re not tied to a particular
developer or set of proprietary tools.
Want to know more about Drupal or web
standards? Ask us, we’re experts.
Our web process
1
2
36
5
4 Site discoveryYOU: Fill out client survey
YOU: Create a list of peer sites
ALL: Meet with key stakeholders to define your site’s goals
ALL: Identify the functions and features needed to meet the site goals
ALL: Identify the user permissions needed on the site
TPC: Make a project plan with timeframe and milestones
TPC: Make an initial site map
ALL: Check in to make sure the site is still within the original estimate, or adjust as needed; create Phase 2 list as needed
2–6 weeks
Site structure YOU: Gather and create content (We can take on this role if you prefer)
TPC: Based on content, create wireframes for key pages
ALL: Revise content and wireframes as needed to incorporate new information (often an iterative process where content affects wireframe, affects content, affects wireframe, and so on )
TPC: Revise site map as necessary based on additional discovery during wireframe and content creation process
ALL: Check in to make sure the site is still within the original estimate, or adjust as needed; create Phase 2 list as needed
2–6 weeks
Interface designTPC: Design an interface for the site and primary pages, based on the wireframes
YOU: Provide feedback on interface designs
TPC: Revise interface based on feedback
2–4 weeks
Site developmentALL: Agree on hosting solution
TPC: Install the Drupal content management system and core modules that fulfill the functions and features requirements
TPC: Load content to primary pages provided during wireframe process
TPC: Convert interface design to web graphics, xHTML and cascading style sheets; debug and test in all browsers
3–4 weeks
Training, testing and revision TPC: Create user manual and other needed documentation
TPC: Teach 2–4 core staff people how to use the new website
YOU: Create user accounts for staff members as needed
YOU: Explore the new site as you add to and revise the site’s content
TPC: Support your core staff as they add content
TPC: Make minor interface and functionality revisions as requested by core staff
2–6 weeks
Launch and post launchYOU: Approve the site for launch
TPC: Take the site live in one to three days, depending on hosting provisions
TPC: Provide up to three hours of support per month for the first 3 months for 1 or 2 key staff members
Total website process: 12–26 weeksIn our experience, this range tends to correlate to the size of the site, the complexity of the decision-making process in the organization, and how much time the organization has devoted to developing its content before the process starts.
Triangle Park Creative 2600 East Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-692-8560
www.TriangleParkCreative.com
Home sweet website
At Triangle Park, we believe building a website
is like building a home: it takes careful planning
and expertise to create one you can love and
want to show off.
First, we partner with you to carry out a detailed
information gathering process so your whole
website is housed within a solidly engineered
and elegantly functioning structure—one that is
accessible and surpasses industry standards. That
way, you can easily do any expanding, remodeling or
updating called for in the future.
A website, like a home, should be a place that
offers security, comfort, spaces where you can get
things done, up-to-date technology, and finally, a
welcoming atmosphere where you are proud to
invite others.