One of the most often asks questions when creating a web site is, 'how long will it take?'  If we've followed the steps previously outlined, we have the materials we'll need to understand what we're building.  But only after we finish putting it all on paper can we get an estimate.

Here's one caveat regarding site building schedules.  Hours do not equate to calendar time.  While a project may be estimated to take forty hours to complete, that does not equate to a weeks worth of work.  You may have special video needs that the video person can't deliver for several weeks.  And until that video is available, nothing else can be done on the site. 

The first thing is layout.  Here, a few page layouts should suffice.  You'll want a front page, informational page, contact form, and, if you're selling things, a product page.  Keeping a consisent layout helps visitors get familiar with the site, which leads to feeling comfortable with it. 

Navigation is next.  Most sites have a primary menu located across the top of the page.  One or two sidebars include additional navigation and functionality such as login or search.

How you put it on paper is a personal preference.  I like simply taking an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper and laying it out in pencil and post-it-notes.  Some people like to take it a step further and do a mockup in Photoshop or Fireworks.  This works well when getting to the point of sign-off so it can be more easily visualized.  This is where you want the changes to occur, not when you're nearing launch.

The purpose of this phase is twofold.  To get the design documented, and to have something all involved in the design can sign off on. 

One more caveat.  Have everyone with authority to change the design look at the layout or mockup and sign-off before the development phase starts.  I'm sure every web site developer has stories of building the site only to find out there was one more, higher authority, that needed to approve the site . . . after it was built.  Say goodbye to your launch date.