DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING A WEBSITE ISN'T MAGIC. There are some straightforward steps involved that you can expect along the way to take you closer to the finish line.
Here's what you can expect to happen when working with me on a project whether you're new to this, an old pro, or somewhere in between:
Step 1. We discuss what you want from your website. These discussions help establish the parameters and goals of your project, what it will and won't do, and what kind of look you want it to have. You don't have to have it all figured out ahead of time as this is often a collaborative brainstorming step. At this point, we also need to make sure you have your domain name and web hosting service in place.
Step 2. Design prototyping in the form of a JPG mockup. I'll begin by assessing your site goals and aesthetic requests to create a mockup of your Home page. As the most important page of the site (usually) and the one that often needs to do the biggest job, it's a good place to start to create the design. Because I do both the design and the development of the site, I ensure that each design I create will work well both as a design and as a functioning website.
Step 3. Design prototype approval. I'll send you the mockup to review, and you'll provide feedback. I roll in any feedback you provide and then resubmit to you for approval. The more information you provide about your site goals and likes/dislikes ahead of time, the more efficient this step becomes.
Step 4. Website build. I implement the Home page as a web page with the design and content agreed to from the previous steps, and create the skeleton for the rest of the site pages so that you can see what it will look and feel like as a website, including the navigation. Once you've approved the Home page as a web page, I take all the content you send to me (as an Word doc, PDF, email, etc..) for each page of the site, provide suggestions to you to ensure it'll work well on the web, and the add it to each of the pages.
Step 6. Ensure it's working for your target audience. I always build websites that work in the latest 2 versions of Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari, but if your target audience is still using a browser from 2005, we want it to work for them too.
Step 7. Launch your website (!) It takes almost no time at all to upload your site to your hosting service where it will instantly be live.
Optional Steps: If you've chosen to enhance your website by providing eCommerce, Email Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, a Blog or Content Management Solution (among others) those each have a place in the schedule too — contact me to learn more.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?
I often get asked how long it will take, and the answer is most often, "It depends." This isn't because I can't estimate how long it will take me to create something, but because the timeline depends on the scope, the scale, and how quickly decisions are made and communicated. But to give you a general idea, you can estimate based on the following...
• 1 week to define the scope and goals of your project.
• 1 week to create the design mockup and ensure that it's exactly what you want.
• 3-5 days to build out the skeleton of the site and the Home page content.
• After that it depends on the number of pages that will make up your site, and how complicated they are. Usually I create anywhere between 3 and 6 website pages per day.
• Validation and testing the website takes one or two days.
• It takes only minutes to upload it to your web host.
The variables that go into the schedule are:
1. How prepared are you to discuss the goals, needs and wants for your site? This includes discussion of content, functionality and aesthetic.
2. How quickly can you provide feedback?
3. How many pages will comprise your site, and is anything special happening on any of the pages?
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE COST?
1. I charge a 1-time fee for designing the unique look-and-feel (aka: aesthetics and layout) of your website. This is delivered in the form of a JPG mockup, and includes up to 1 hour of iteration time to be sure it's right where you want it.
2. I charge a fee per-page-implemented, and each implemented page includes up 30 minutes of iteration time to be sure that your message is coming across in the best way possible. Charging this way allows each project to scale up/down as necessary given the budget and time constraints, while still being able to estimate costs. And if you want to start with 3 pages now, and work up to 7 pages in the future, that's no problem.
3. All costs for other services are determined by the scope of the request. Before a project begins, I provide an estimate that covers all requests so that you know what to expect in the end.
4. Once your site has been created, website maintenance is billed hourly.
I'm not a nameless, faceless company. I'm a real person who you can talk with and who will address your concerns. You hire a web designer because you need an expert, so don't lose sleep over your investment. My goal is to make you and your project successful through a unique and compelling web presence. If you're ready to get started on your own project, get in touch!