Developing any strategy starts with extensive research in order to really get a complete understanding of the industry and business itself. A deep analysis of the competitive landscape is imperative to the success of your project, both from a strategy and design perspective. It is crucial to have a mix of both qualitative and quantitative research, such as examining current website metrics, engaging in competitive research, and having conversations with stakeholders will provide you with findings that are going to be relevant throughout the entire strategy process. When it comes to qualitative research, speaking with the client’s key stakeholders about the web design project will help clarify their role in the process. Whether it’s the CEO, CMO, or various members of the marketing and sales teams, having a clear understanding as to what they need from the website is imperative. Ask questions such as, “How can this site be optimized to help you?” or “What are some difficulties you have with the current site?” Having the employees of the business give their opinions on the current website will provide insight on areas that are in need of improvement, and allow you to assess any user experience issues and problems they face when navigating the website. This portion of your research should uncover how your website can become a tool for everyone at the company and help the specific needs of their job. For example, some businesses may have employees that constantly travel and need to access a database that is hosted through the company’s website – in this case it would be good to implement an extranet to increase productivity and accessibility for all employees. Workshops offer a similar perspective. They allow you to host exercises with different groups of people that make up your target audience to better understand the positioning of your brand and products, while potentially determining some alternative methods that may be more effective. Prior to any workshop, develop an agenda and select a moderator that will ensure all topics get covered and the right amount of time is properly allocated for each question. The purpose of these workshops is to encourage discussions that cover project objectives and expectations, measurement of success, problems with the current site, opinions on design, and structure. Ask attendees to rank the importance of each element to determine the impact it has on the business and its customers. Use this process as a basis for deciding the order in which these elements should be addressed in the web development strategy.

Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.[1] Strategy has many definitions, but generally involves setting goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions. A strategy describes how the ends (goals) will be achieved by the means (resources). The senior leadership of an organization is generally tasked with determining strategy. Strategy can be planned (intended) or can be observed as a pattern of activity (emergent) as the organization adapts to its environment or competes. Strategy includes processes of formulation and implementation; strategic planning helps coordinate both. However, strategic planning is analytical in nature (i.e., it involves "finding the dots"); strategy formation itself involves synthesis (i.e., "connecting the dots") via strategic thinking. As such, strategic planning occurs around the strategy formation activity.

Web development is a broad term for the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet (World Wide Web) or an intranet (a private network). Web development can range from developing the simplest static single page of plain text to the most complex web-based internet applications, electronic businesses, and social network services. A more comprehensive list of tasks to which web development commonly refers, may include web engineering, web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development. Among web professionals, "web development" usually refers to the main non-design aspects of building web sites: writing markup and coding. Most recently Web development has come to mean the creation of content management systems or CMS. These CMS can be made from scratch, proprietary or open source. In broad terms the CMS acts as middleware between the database and the user through the browser. A principle benefit of a CMS is that it allows non-technical people to make changes to their web site without having technical knowledge.[1] For larger organizations and businesses, web development teams can consist of hundreds of people (web developers) and follow standard methods like Agile methodologies while developing websites. Smaller organizations may only require a single permanent or contracting developer, or secondary assignment to related job positions such as a graphic designer and/or information systems technician. Web development may be a collaborative effort between departments rather than the domain of a designated department. There are 3 kind of web developer specialization; Front-End Developer, Back-End Developer, and Full Stack Developer.

Never say goodbye:
Our point here is that we have an obligation not just to build our clients a website, but to help them run it too. Not all clients will want our help and that is fine. However, we should not be the ones to walk away washing our hands of responsibility. We should not be the ones saying goodbye. Always remember that building a great website is not enough, it’s what happens once it is launched that really matters.