Development Cycle, in brief

First, nail down the information architecture - concentrate on organizing information to match the needs of potential customers and correctly name links and architecture using trigger words to take advantage of scent. Concentrate on user experience. Development of "wireframe" site.

Then, depending on complexity of site or new concept, small scale usability testing on wireframe site.

Refinement of architecture, design begins, development gets underway. Content should already be in rough form, and being refined.

Alpha stage. Usability testing on rough site. User feedback evaluated and changes/fixes made.

Beta stage. QA testing begins.

Release candidate stage. Live server testing or running in parallel for website upgrades/redesigns.

Launch - coincides with marketing campaign.

Metrics are carefully monitored after launch and activities tracked to see if expects results match up.

Careful attention is paid to early adopters (those most excited about the product and their feedback - particular through customer support), but also through online survey research.