As you can tell by the Wowsers Web Design website - we like colors and the look of fun! But just because we do, doesn't mean you do! We tailor every site to our clients' tastes and needs. Our Website Design Process begins by learning about the purpose of your website - what do you want it to do? We start to build the look and feel (colors and navigation) of the site. Sometimes this step goes quickly and other times it can be the hardest part of the process. Once the template is done then we begin fill the website with content.
Normally from start to finish we allow 45-60 days for the Website Design Process. This is usually plenty of time to get a website finished. Wowsers Web Design NEEDS your participation in the Website Design Process to ensure the website gets finished and has every chance of being successful. If you'd like to be able to update your own website, we can build one that allows you to do most of the day-to-day maintenance yourself via an easy-to-use web-based content management system. If you'd prefer not to deal with any of the website updates, then we'll be glad to handle it all for you. It's up to you! We can do a basic website to a very complicated and complexed website…and everything in between., all while maintaining an affordable WordPress website design.
The client is a HUGE part of the Website Design Process!
We rely on you to provide your business information, the bulk of the content, and the pictures/images for the site. We rely on continued, prompt and continual communication between Wowsers Web Design and the client throughout the design process.
First let me say this - as a Tucson Web Designer - I cannot read minds. Now having said that, I have engaged with clients that want Wowsers Web Design to "handle" everything ... content, images, etc., on for their website. This makes the website design process difficult. The website owner must and should fully participate in this process.
Wowser Web Design Standard Web Design Contract States:
What is provided by the Client:
- Images: Client will provide images related to website in at least a 1024 x 768px size. Please ensure that the photos are labeled/named with the product/image name. If there are more than one photos for a product append each photo with a number. Example: Chair 1.jpg Chair 2.jpg Chair 3.jpg.
- Premium Plugin / Subscriptions: Any requested premium plugins or subscriptions are at the Client’s expense.
- Website Colors: If there are specific colors for the background or the website the client will provide the HTML Color code for these colors.
- Fonts: If there are specific GOOGLE FONTS desired – the client will provide the names of these fonts.
- Website Content: I will work with you to develop SEO content about your product/website. Please provide any exact or specific wording that you require.
Wowsers Web Design and the Client must work together to complete the Web Design Project in a timely manner.
The span of this contract is from DATE A to DATE B. Wowsers Web Design agrees to work expeditiously to have your website go live within 45 days after the signing of the contract. It is understood that sometimes life gets in the way. The timeline is a realistic goal to complete the website. We will make every effort to accommodate the client. If more time is needed by the client additional fees may apply.
Items That Are Needed Begin the Website Process
- A signed and returned contract/agreement
- A complete payment.
So Let's Get Started
So you’ve taken the step towards getting a beautiful new website for your business – awesome! What now? Well, if I am chosen to be YOUR Tucson Web Designer I will need a good amount of information in order to start to design and build your website. Having a lot of this information ready ahead of time can make your project move along quicker, as well as prevent many headaches for both of us.
Company Information
When we create a website for you, we will be filling in all the information on the site during the development process. We also use real information in the design mockups so that you can have a clear vision of how your info will look on the new site.
The following general business information is recommended to provide at the start of your project:
- Official Business Name – If your business needs to be displayed with any legal symbols or titles, please let us know! Let us know if you need to have ™, LLC, Inc., or anything of the sort included with your business name.
- Primary Phone Number – Whatever phone number you use to answer calls and inquiries for your business.
- Business Email Address(s) – Any email addresses you want to use on the site. If you have multiples like support@youremail.com, contact@youremail.com, or TomJones@youremail.com, let us know.
- Hours of Operation – If you have a physical business, let us know what your hours of operation are. Displaying these on your website is extremely important, as many customers these days visit business’s websites to find this kind of info.
- List of Services – Always provide a list of services that you will need pages for on the site. For example, if you’re a photographer, you would tell us that you do Wedding Photography, Pet Photography, Engagement Shoots, etc. Also be sure to tell us about any “sub services” you may have for the main ones.
You may have more general business information than this – and that’s okay! The more information you can give us, the smoother the design and development process will be.
Your Logo
If you already have a logo for your business, you should provide in a .PNG format (if possible), or other image formats. Most logos on the web nowadays are high-resolution and have transparent backgrounds. Grainy logos make your website look unprofessional and incomplete.
If your logo was professionally designed, you should have received a sort of file package from the graphic designer. This package should have your logo in a variety of file types and sizes. We will need to have a version that is large, high-resolution, and with a transparent background (a .PNG). The ideal file to provide your web designer would be a .PNG - and as I tell all my clients - "The bigger the image the better. The image can easily be made smaller. It cannot successfully be made larger. .
Other file formats that are acceptable that I can use are: .PDF, and sometimes .PSD or .TIFF.
No logo? Consider getting one before you start building a website. Having a solid logo will help us to create a solid brand identity through your website.
*Please note that sometimes logo files are created with a solid background, but can be edited to remove it. This takes extra time on the my part to prepare your logo for use on the web.
Site Content
When starting to develop your website, I like to customize the design process as much as possible. In order to build a successful website, I need to know exactly what information you want to display on the site. Different content is best displayed in different ways, and knowing what content you want to include is crucial to creating a decent website layout. We wouldn’t want to design a section on the site that features, say, a photography portfolio if you’re a dentist. That section would be almost useless to your business and a waste of design time!
If you don’t have any content for your website yet, here are some pieces of info that can be very valuable to get started:
- A short, elevator pitch for your business/service. Give us a 4-5 sentence summary of what you do and how your business is beneficial to your target audience. Stating your industry, target demographic, and services are great pieces of information to start with.
- Page content. This is the text for every page of your website. Write up employee bios, service descriptions/explanations, “About” information for your company, a mission statement, FAQs, and anything else you need to sell your service/product to your clients.
- Any images for your gallery/portfolio (if applicable). Provide images at as high of quality as possible. Unless discussed in the scope of your project, be sure to provide images that are already edited to your liking.
- Any photos you want to see on informational pages of the site. If you don’t have any, at least give an idea of what kinds of photos you want to use to relate to your customers. Stock photos that illustrate your services, pictures of your products, employee headshots, images of your office/store/practice, etc.
- A few finalized blog posts. – If your website is going to include a blog (which it should), you should provide a few pre-written posts to upload to the site before it goes live. This will ensure that your website gets launched with a bit of “older” content, so it doesn’t look 100% brand new. This helps build trust with your users who see that your company has been around and active.
The Look of Your Website
This is probably the most important bit of info you can provide – and the most fun! Provide examples of design that you do and don’t like to give me an idea of what styles to play around with.
Go out to some of your favorite and least favorite websites and start taking notes.
You’ll want to find specific (or close to) examples of things that you love and hate about websites and overall design.
I will ask you in our website agreement for links to websites you like and dislike, and a series of notes about each link.
Not sure where to start? I look at like "industry" websites from around the country. For example - if I am working with a local plumber - I google "Plumber Denver" or "Plumber Miami" etc.
Other design influences are important as well. If your business has a very rustic background (say you’re a rustic furniture store), you would want to point that out. Provide photos of your products or examples of similar products you will be selling will give me an idea of the design behind your business or service.
Other Information
Depending on the type of business you run and the type of website you need, I may need additional information throughout the process. These points are a great guideline to follow for gathering all the basic information I need to fill in your site, but there may be more. A good rule of thumb is that if you’re unsure if I need a bit of info, send it along. Even if I don’t need it at all it’s better to have too much info than not enough!