Website Design & Development
The Design Process
The importance of the web design process, and the designer’s ability to effectively communicate that process to the client cannot be understated. The success of your whole project, from concept, design, and implementation will be affected by how well this process is planned and ultimately carried out. A streamlined design process achieves two things:
- The greatest opportunity for bringing into focus the core vision of your brand, as it relates to your online presence.
- The shortest possible turnaround time.
The Design Process
The Steps to Success
Typically, the design process will go something like this:
- Once a project is funded, a design meeting is scheduled, either in person or over the phone, with one or more top-level individuals. A list of predefined topics are discussed, the results of which are then used by us to carefully craft a unique design approach.
- With medium-to-large organizations where input is required from a larger group of people, it is recommended that pre-design discussions be carried out independently, prior to the main design meeting with us. This facilitates a collaborative design process, while avoiding the pitfalls of a “design by committee” scenario. We work closely with you to help refine your previous results during our meeting.
- For clients who need additional time to schedule the design meeting, this is perfectly fine. The project is funded, so feel free to take all the time you need. We will use this as an opportunity to get a jump on our research, and to work up a number of ideas for the upcoming meeting.
- Within two weeks of the design meeting, a design preview is ready for you.
- As my design process has been enhanced with new workflows since 2018, the initial preview will now be a live web page (typically of the home page), instead of a single Adobe Photoshop graphic displayed within a web page. This preview will not necessarily have a fully developed mobile-friendly experience, as this feature is saved for last, but the core of the feature will be built in – meaning that you will have one code base, but unique layout experiences for smartphone, tablet, and desktop. At this time however, it is recommended that you preview the design from a desktop or laptop computer (with a modern browser).
- Once the design is approved, all pages are built, and the new site is ready for testing, the mobile experience will also be ready for testing.
- A client project area is created on our server where design previews, revisions, and updates can be accessed and tracked. This can be on your server if you have a paid hosting account for your domain.
- You are welcome to review the design at your leisure, acquiring input from team members and coming back to us with requests for changes.
- Some clients invariably choose to seek the input of an in-house (or independent) graphic designer. This is not a problem. We understand that your brand image is vital to your business, and having the fresh perspective of another talented graphic artist is always a plus. We welcome their input. That said, we find that projects tend to run more smoothly when designated project managers are able to gather all of the relevant feedback from their team, and then share those with us themselves.
- Our design process was honed over a 25-year period of steady client work. We excel at uncovering the heart of our client’s core vision for their brand, and from that, developing a solid design direction. If however, it is ultimately determined that we somehow missed the mark with the design preview, we will gladly schedule a second design meeting. At that time we will look closely at previous talking points, and discuss potential paths and options to bring the design into alignment with your vision. If this results in a completely new design approach, no worries. We do not charge extra for getting it right. 🙂
- We will work closely with you until a web design is finalized – one that you are absolutely delighted with.
- The only time limit that exists at this point is the one you yourself set. We are perfectly happy to spend whatever time is necessary to create the perfect design that best represents your brand; however many revisions that may require (based on the “Premium Website Design Package“, which has unlimited design revisions. The Standard package is limited to 5 design revisions, while Basic is limited to 2 design revisions.)
- Once a design is finalized, it is locked. From there we move into development & production, which can run anywhere from one to two weeks (Sometimes longer, depending on your project requirements).
- Note: Locked does not necessarily mean that changes cannot be made, only that such changes will halt production, and could incur additional costs.
Call today for your FREE consultation: 928-213-0933.