When it comes time to design a new website, you may feel excited or even a little anxious. A new website allows you to update everything from your content and images to your entire marketing strategy – all of which can open the door to new prospects and leads.
With constant changes in web design strategies and trends, it can be hard to know where to start or who to trust. We’re going to break down our design process for you so you understand what all is involved and why.
1.) The Discovery Phase: Share, Share, Share
The initial stage of our web design process is the discovery phase. This is the stage where we get as much information as possible from the client. We want you to share everything you can about your business.
To help make sure we’re getting enough information from clients, we schedule phone call interviews. These short interviews include a series of questions pertaining to your business. We try to cover everything from when your business was established to what sets you apart from your competitors. During this interview, and all other communication, we encourage clients to share, share, share. Give us the whole gamut. The more information you provide, the easier it will be to create a website that reflects your voice, vision, and passion.
We also ask clients for their design preferences during this initial stage. We promise you, anything you share with our design team will be of great value. Your website not only needs to be engaging and functional, it needs to convey information using your brand’s voice. This will turn visitors into leads and help your business grow exponentially.
2.) Share All Images and Logo Files
A key factor to the design process is getting the proper files and information to the design team. This information includes documents, images, and other useful resources. Your current marketing materials can prove to be extremely helpful for the designers, so be sure to share any brochures, photos, logos, or flyers you may have. These materials give our design team a more in depth look into your company – helping us understand your brand and what sets you apart from the competition.
When it comes to sharing assets, particularly logos, it’s best to share anything and everything that may be useful. Logo files are a valuable asset for any business. Your logo is your face to the world, and our web designers want to put that best face forward online. In order to do this, you must provide high-quality, high-resolution logo files. This helps ensure a smooth web design process. Without these high-resolution files, all customers will see is a pixelated version of your logo or products, which may make your business appear sloppy.
To avoid this, we recommend using a .jpg, (or .jpg2000), .png, or .tif file format with a minimum size of 1200 dpi (dots per inch) x 900 dpi. The larger the dpi, the better. Designers are able to create various options from a larger file compared to a smaller one. A popular image size used is 2480 x 1152. You may be wondering, “Isn’t the logo from my Facebook page sufficient?” Unfortunately, smaller images such as thumbnails won’t provide a quality image as it is too small for designers to use. If a designer used a thumbnail photo for the main image on your website, it would appear very distorted.
Not only is quality important, but quantity is as well. Send along as many pictures of your products, building (inside and out), and employees as possible. The more you give our designers to work with, the better the end result!
If you’re unable to locate any of these assets, or currently do not have a logo, we can discuss other options. We may be able to create a web-ready version of your logo or can recommend something else.
3.) Hand Over the Reins
An important component of making the design process successful is to hand over control to the designer. Website designers have the expertise and time that you or your employees may not have. Plus, when you hire a professional, your website will be modern as well as functional. If you’re nervous about relinquishing control, know the final say lands with you. Good designers will welcome any feedback after the initial draft has been viewed.
Once the above documents and images are obtained, our web designers are able to begin the creating process. Copywriters are able to produce the content (or wording) for your website, informing your audience of the unique products and services you offer. The content they create also utilizes keywords that are strategically placed throughout the website’s wording.
Keywords are specific words that act as the key to a cipher or code. In terms of SEO, they’re the words and phrases that searchers enter into search engines, also called “search queries.” As a business owner, you want the keywords on your page to be relevant to what people are searching for so they have a better chance of finding your content among the results.
Our web designers and graphic designers then add this content to the website. Your images are also placed into the design, along with making visual modifications such as colors and fonts to match your logo. Once our creative team has a working rough draft of the website in place, you will be able to review it. The process from creation to completion varies but can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months depending on your company’s needs.
4.) Provide Feedback and Finalize
Last but not least, we encourage clients to provide us with feedback. Remember, this website is a reflection of your business. Our creative team always does their best to bring a client’s vision to life. However, minimal feedback may result in a website that doesn’t truly reflect your business the way you’d like it to. When it comes to the web development process, we’re your partner. We want to work with you to create a website you’re truly proud of. So again, provide feedback! At this point in the web development process, final touches and last minute changes are relatively easy to make. Once you like what you see, it’s time to finalize everything and get your new website live!
If you’re interested in learning more, we recommend scheduling a no-cost, no-obligation analysis meeting with one of our consultants. During this meeting, you’ll learn how your current website is performing and what areas need to be improved. This information is free to you, so why not take advantage of it?
We look forward to connecting with you soon!