Shedding Some Light on Our Process
So you've signed a proposal for a shiny new website. Now what? That bit of anxiety is certainly relatable. It's the same feeling I get every time I've ever worked with a contractor to build something at my house. The start of the project is always a fine mix of excitement and nerves. My best experiences are when contractors are communicative throughout the process, and work with integrity and excellence. Those are values we strive for!
At the end of the day, we want to build a website that works for you. A site that you can be proud of. When your website leads to conversions, fosters trust, and extends your brand, that's a win for us!
So let's shine some light on our process. Here’s how a typical project unfolds.
Our Process
Discovery
Once the project is underway, we'll schedule a discovery meeting. Building a great website is so much more than just making it look nice (although we're big fans of that). It's about collaborating with you to understand your goals, audience, and requirements. We learn what to prioritize, and what success looks like for you.
Research
After that, we get to researching. We need to know your industry better, and get a clearer strategic picture of what we're designing. Think notes and sketches.
Design & Collaboration
Now to the fun part! It's time to design your website. We move from concept and theory into initial designs. We design with mobile-first in mind, and begin building all the components that will make up your site. We build a design system that is unmistakably your brand and flexible enough to be used throughout your website.
When initial designs are ready, we'll schedule a meeting to review it together in the browser and discuss feedback, refinements, and improvements. Your feedback is so important here! We value your thoughts, and look for ways to align our vision with your insight.
After that we'll revise designs as needed to make sure you're thrilled with the direction! Once we are on the same page, we'll finish front-end development and move the project forward.
Content & CMS Integration
At this stage, we bring your content and design together. What this looks like depends on your project and what we have outlined in the proposal. Sometimes we help shape or refine the content. Other times, you provide it, or we migrate it from an existing site. No matter the approach, our focus is on making sure your content feels natural within the design and works well for your audience.
If your project includes a Content Management System (CMS), we will integrate everything in a way that is intuitive and easy to manage. We will then meet with you to walk through the CMS and show you how to confidently make updates to your site moving forward.
Testing
At this stage, the finish line is in sight. We take the time to carefully walk through every detail, using a thorough checklist to make sure nothing gets overlooked. From accessibility and performance optimizations to the small but important touches like your favicon, we focus on all the behind-the-scenes work that keeps your site running smoothly and sets it up for long-term success.
🚀 Launch
On launch day, we’re right there with you as everything goes live. We handle pointing your domain to the hosting environment and then take time to test the site on the production server, making sure everything is working as expected. That includes checking layouts, forms, and any other key functionality, so you can feel confident in a smooth launch.
Post-Launch
We don’t launch a site and disappear. After launch, we include 30 days of complimentary post-launch support to take care of any small tweaks or adjustments within the original scope.
Beyond that, we believe a website is never truly “finished.” It should evolve as your business grows and your needs change. We aim to be a long-term partner, not just a one-time vendor, and we offer ongoing maintenance plans and retainers to help keep your site healthy and up to date.