Planning your website can be a tricky process, but don’t worry; I’ll make it easy for you! I will take you step by step and help you plan your site, from beginning to launch.
Whether you’re building a website for your business or your organization, you need to start with a plan. All good plans start with quality information, and to get quality information you need the right questions. This article will help you nail down your website goals and collect the materials necessary for web development. The more effort put into the gathering process, the more likely you will end up with an effective, customer-driven, and well-planned web presence.
Every effort is made to get your website finished as quickly as possible. However, instead of using a mass-produced Template in order to crank out Websites as if I was working for McDonalds and cranking out Happy Meals, I like to design sites so that there’s a different outcome for every client. Your site should fit your needs, your Web goals, and your style. It needs to capture the essence of the image you want your customers and clients to have of you, and your business.
With all that said, the design is often the part that gets finished long before the most important part: Your content. More often than not, the web project runs along rather smoothly, and quickly, then suddenly ends up gridlocked as we wait for the content, or photos, or videos. It’s been my personal experience that the main reason why this part seems to stall is because most people either do not know what to write, or they know what they want to say but have no idea how to put it all down on paper. This is where hiring a professional writer can come in very handy! I can’t stress enough the importance of quality content. If need be, hire a skilled writer.
On to the steps we’ll go through from start to finish. To save you from having to read all the details online, I will give you a brief outline of each step of the entire process.
- Website Design Proposal — After I’ve gathered all the information from you regarding the general website plans (i.e., number of pages needed; how much content; how many images; media/photo galleries; etc.), I will then write up a proposal for your approval.
- Agreements / Deposits — If the proposal is accepted, a 50% down payment will be required before work begins. Along with the invoice, you will receive a copy of the Agreement which spells out what we will/will not do, what we are/are not responsible for, and other miscellaneous items. As an example, we are not responsible for any third party software programs, or programs such as WordPress, used on your site. By the way — No Spec Work. Think of it this way: Would you ask an auto manufacturer to design and build a custom new car to your specifications so that you can take it for a test drive to see if you want it?
- Domain Name Registration and/or Hosting Packages — If you have not yet selected your domain name, and a hosting package (domain name registration is separate from web hosting), now is the time to do so.
- Collect Your Materials — Anything that you can provide to help speed the process up will not only help the both of us it will also be a cost savings for you. This includes, but is not limited to; company logo, brochures, articles, photos, other images, and videos. If you’re selling products, we will need all of your product information/photos/costs. The more information you provide, the quicker your project will be completed and the better the final results.
- Mockup Sites — I will put together a design concept for you a so that you can critique and discuss. If you also requested a logo design, this usually comes before the website concept since the website will be designed around your logo. Your feedback is essential in the web design process.
- Design Look and Feel — Based on your feedback from the mockup site, the design is established and will be used for your site. Did I mention that Your feedback is essential in the web design process?
- Content – Now the content begins to be placed on your site. If we’re going to be using any scripting, that will integrated into the site as the pages are built. Examples of scripting would be the contact form, Google’s tracker or Adsense, and so on. Also, as content is placed, SEO for each page is being done. Your site will be optimized using keywords and descriptions taken from your content. This is not to say that you should write for the search engines. Write for your readers first and foremost, being sure to strategically place your keywords within your content.
- Website goes “Live” — After you have signed off on the final review, and everything is as it should be, your site will be uploaded to your server, ready for public consumption! Following the launch of your site, you will receive one (1) complementary hour of time in order to make any MINOR changes to the content of your site, such as add/remove a paragraph, or make a grammatical change in content. I will also create your sitemap for the search engines and submit it to the top 5 search engines.
I look forward to the opportunity to work with you on your web project!
