Before hiring a website designer, you should find out what the process is like working with them. An experienced designer will be able to speak to their process with no hesitation. Hiring a designer who has a plan will only make your life easier because a designer with a tested and perfected process will be able to keep the ball rolling, thereby enabling them to complete the project on time and on budget.
I’ve worked with many clients on many websites and over the years have perfected my 4 step website design process. When I start working with a new website design client, I like to gather as much information as possible from them at the beginning so I can be best equipped to design a website that they’ll love, will authentically represent them and attract their ideal clients.
In order to achieve this goal, I have a detailed questionnaire that I send new clients prior to our strategy session. The questionnaire allows me to find out more about their business, their brand, their ideal client, what their goals for their website are, and so much more.
I also share my branding identity guide and website copy guide to help my clients with those areas of their business and website.
I ask my clients to provide me with their website copy, images, fonts and colors before I start designing their website. I am always happy to help assist with these.
I have several wonderful copywriters that I can refer to who can help my clients craft their website copy.
While I always recommend that my clients have branded photographs for their websites and hire a professional photographer for this, I will refer them to several good stock image sites and work with them to select their images.
I will also assist my clients in choosing their brand fonts and colors and also have some great websites that I’ll refer them to for color inspiration and font pairings.
My website design process can begin once I have all of these components in hand.
I have a 4 step website design process that I use for each custom website I design. I will briefly outline that process here:
Step 1.
I kick-off the process with a strategy session to discuss their answers to my questionnaire, their vision for their website, their ideal client and their brand. If they don’t have a domain or hosting yet, I’ll walk them through setting up both of those. I recommend using Namecheap for registering their domain name and Siteground for their hosting. Then I’ll design a coming soon page for their domain if they don’t have a current website.
Step 2.
Once I have their copy, images, logo, colors and fonts, I’ll begin the design process on my staging platform. When the first draft is complete, I schedule a design session so I can walk them through their site.
Step 3.
After the design session, I’ll send them a live link to their site. They’ll have the opportunity to make up to two rounds of page layout design refinements so the website matches their vision. Once they’ve decided on their refinements, I’ll schedule a review session to go over the changes they’d like to see made.
Step 4.
Once the final layout is complete, I’ll optimize for mobile, configure basic SEO, test and migrate. After the site is migrated to their domain, I’ll re-test the site, configure Google Analytics and index the site through Google Search Console. Then we’ll have a launch session to give them administration rights, train them how to use the site and celebrate their site going live!
As you can see, I’m highly collaborative in my website design process. It’s something that my clients really seem to appreciate.
It’s incredibly important to me that my clients know where I am in the design process. So, I use a task management system called Asana to track all projects and tasks. My clients are provided access to their project and can check the status of their project at their convenience.
To ensure I’m providing the best service possible, I communicate regularly with my clients to stay in touch and be sure we’re meeting deadlines.
After the final website is live, my clients have the option of using my training guide to manage their website on their own or they can hire me to manage it for them on a monthly basis.
I hope you enjoyed learning about my 4 step website design process. If you’re interested in working with me, please click here to fill out my contact form. I’d love to connect with you!
