All great ideas start with exploration. A piece of communication is no different. Every project begins with a brainstorming session. Thoughts and ideas are worked out on paper and a rough map or outline is created. Specific project goals are defined. From there, designs are developed and sketched out using the site goals for focus. With the goals and design expectations defined in the exploration stage, the next step is to develop a site. Here is where the communication will take shape. Manipulating text, images and code the sketches are transformed into a rough draft. The draft is analyzed against the project goals and put through a series of revisions and tests. Once the goals are met, the design is approved and the code is debugged, the site can be established online. This is sometimes called "going live". With a site "live" on the Internet, there is still a lot of work left to be done. The site should be expanded. Keeping a site up to date and fresh is just as important as getting it online (maybe more important). As the site is used, users will provide feedback on how they would like to see the site work for them. There will be ideas that were not thought of in the planning stages and site goals will be redefined. These new goals will drive changes in a site and help it to become more useful. Darwin had it right. Technology and user perspectives change daily and it is important to adapt. On top of timely information, the design and technology used in a site has to evolve. A site that never changes will become like wallpaper on the Internet, people won't notice it. Adopting every new idea coming out of the Silicon Valley doesn't work either. The trick is to stay focused on a goal and use the technology to achieve it.