One of the major obstacles that business owners face when deciding to develop a website is the idea that it is a time-consuming and complex process. Some business owners feel heavily burdened by the idea of starting a project that they assume is massive in scope, and will require them to do a great deal work that they don’t know how to do.
In this article, we will take the mystery out of the web design process, and show exactly how, as a Toronto Web Design company, we walk our clients through the web development process from Alpha to Omega.
We are here to take the fear out of it! Let’s get started!
First of all, you are not web developers. You are not web designers, you are not graphic designers or photographers. At Bush Marketing, we don’t expect you to be these things. It is our job to lead you through this process in clear and painless way. We take great pride in partnering with our clients, developing the projects with them, and educating them along the way.
Discussion
Prior to doing any work, we meet with our clients to learn about each other’s businesses, determine exactly what the client goals are, what their marketing budget is, and determine what timeline best suits both parties. This is where we learn if Bush Marketing and the potential client are a fit. In everything we do, we want to best serve our clients, so it is in the best interest of both parties to determine whether or not we are comfortable working together, and that Bush Marketing can provide the services that the client needs. If everything works out, great! We begin the next phase of the process.
Discovery
Once you’ve made the commitment to work with Bush Marketing, the first phase of the process begins. This is the Discovery phase. In this process, we will learn about your business, the nature of your industry and your competitors. We rely on you to educate us on these topics as it allows us to best market your business.
After the in-person Discovery session which will already have happened at this point, we will send over our intake questionnaire for you to fill out. This asks our clients which websites and styles they like, keywords that people might use to search for their business on Google, names of some of their competitors, what those competitors are doing successfully, what they are not doing successfully, and so forth.
This is an invaluable part of the process as it sets the foundation for the marketing strategy. Once we receive this questionnaire, we analyze it, and then we take to the internet to look at your industry, examine your competitors and make our own assessment. This process takes about one week to complete.
Design
Once we have completed our analysis of the discovery questionnaire and done our own research, it’s time to design the website. At this stage, we ask our clients to provide any photography, any logos or graphic design assets that they may have. It is critical that we incorporate the existing branding if your company into the website, so that you can give the most professional appearance possible, and maintain and consistency throughout your marketing.
This is also when our clients will begin the process of writing the content for their website. We walk our clients through the process of writing the copy, what they should be writing, and for what pages they should be writing for as well.
Often times clients will want to hire a professional copywriter to write for the website, or hire a photographer to shoot images of the team and the business location. If that is the case, we introduce our clients to one of our strategic partners who execute these tasks, working hand-in-hand with the client and Bush Marketing.
Our designers determine what color scheme to use, what the architecture of the website will be, what the navigation for the website should be, and any other pertinent information for the structure and style of the website. This process takes about two weeks to complete.
Read: How to Turn Your Website into a Powerful Marketing Tool
Development
Once the design of the website is complete, it is submitted to the client for approval. The client and the project coordinator will set up a meeting to discuss revisions. Once these revisions are approved and implemented, the development of the website itself begins.
All of Bush Marketing websites are built on the WordPress platform which is in the best interest of our clients, as it is the most versatile, powerful, and user-friendly platform available for web design. Approximately 25% of business websites on the internet are WordPress based.
During this development process, the client continues to work with any other external service providers, such as photographers, copywriters, videographers, etc. Not a lot of this is required of the client during this process. This is what’s known as the “quiet time”. Besides submitting any content they are to provide, they can just sit back and relax!
The development process usually takes between two and three weeks.
Testing & Launch
Once we have completed the development of the website, we begin the critical testing phase. Bush Marketing websites state of the art and designed to be viewed on all mobile devices including tablets and smartphones. We test across multiple devices to ensure that your website is visible to all potential clients on whatever device they wish to use.
During this time we also test to the speed of the site, make sure that all forms are functioning properly, and we will implement the SEO measures.
This process usually takes about one week. Once the testing is complete and the client has signed off on the website, it is time to launch!
Ongoing Support
Now that we have launched the website, it is time to make sure that the health of the website is maintained for the future. We proudly offer the Bush Marketing Care Program which allows you peace of mind moving forward with your website. The Bush Marketing team will, on a monthly basis, backup your website, secure the website from hackers, and update the website so that it is functioning at it’s best.
We also schedule quarterly meetings with our clients, to discuss any updates or enhancements that should be made on the site. This keeps their website fresh, and allows them to keep their clients informed of any changes that may have occurred with the business or the industry. Keeping a website fresh also extends its lifespan, saving you money in the long run.
And that’s it! We work hard to make it a fun and educational process for our clients, and we ensure that you are well informed and know what’s expected from you at all times!
Interested in a unique, custom designed and branded website to help skyrocket your business? Call Bush Marketing today!
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