Besides having a reason for a website, the very first and most important question that needs to be answered is  "What should go on the website?" Planning the content of the website is very important. Gathering information, photos, and any other possible digital information creates a bank of resources to work with, which will ultimately determine the success of the website.

  Once all of the information is collected the design phase can begin. Knowing what the site will contain will make this level of the website's lifecycle simpler and more cost effective.

Beginning with a few designs, a developer can take suggestions, opinions, and requirements into a collection useable in the design process. Just like the planning phase, designing also has to have an equivalent amount of planning and information.

   Once all of the content has been collected and the design of the site complete, development can begin, and an experienced developer can implement your website in a way that is efficient and cost effective, yet user friendly and easy to update.

Because web programming languages have a tendency to evolve, having experience with one language will help with another. For example, when the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) took over regulating the standardization of the web, and its programming languages that are integrated into most of today’s browsers, HTML the older language was rendered obsolete and XHTML became the new standard. Java applications quickly became bulky and a lighter version called JavaScript was developed. Javascript was later standardized and integrated into most browsers available today. Containing the ability to render a website from dynamic data prior to a user viewing it PHP soon became the standard behind web design. Trying to perfect these languages takes a high amount of dedication, as well as a predefined knowledge that only comes with experience.

   After Development is complete and a website has been tested deployment of the website puts the cycle of the website into play. Having a live version of the site available to the public is the ultimate goal of any website. This requires knowledge of server requirements, different operating systems, setting up email and being able to host all required web services.

   While the website is up and running, often there is need to make a change, add, or remove something. This is the last phase of a website's cycle, maintenance. Generally, it is accepted that some individual within the website's company can be trained to maintain most of the features of the site. Using Content Management systems, the responsibility of minor changes and additions can be delegated to almost anyone. For larger issues such as the foundation and design changes of the site, it might be beneficial to bring in the development company for monthly updates, and smaller issues like price changes can easily be taught to an individual or group of people.

  Creating a Website is no small task. From start to finish it requires cooperation of developer and client. The success of each step is based entirely on the step before it, and without careful planning, a website can easily become very expensive and time consuming.