It can be argued that by its very nature a website is never actually done. Cyberspace is much more malleable than bricks and mortar, so businesses can constantly tinker with the way their site looks as well as continuously add new content, features, and products. While it is true that revisions and updates will be an ongoing progress, when developing a website from scratch, businesses need to know when the main architecture and design of a site is complete enough to be made available to the public.

There are several things that need to take place before a site can be declared done. The most obvious is that all the agreed upon elements are in place on the development site. This includes graphics, images, written content, navigation, and the design template. It may also include the uploading of all product descriptions or linking the site to a separate inventory engine. Designers and site owners should check to make sure there are no errors in spelling or formatting of design elements and that all links, buttons, and graphical items work properly.

The next important step is to put the site through independent Usability Tests . while this may require hiring a separate testing agency, the investment is essential to the eventual success of the site. Usability testing will identify not only any snags in the user experience, but can help developers understand the average user response to the site so that they can make necessary adjustments in order to ensure a quality user experience.

Once everything works and any changes recommended by user testing have been made — and retested! — then businesses can feel secure that a site is ready to open its doors to the web browsing public.