• Needs Analysis
  • The first thing we will do is explore your needs and wants in order to clarify goals. The Needs Analysis can be short and sweet – taking place in a very few conversations for a simple website presence, or it can take quite a bit more time and cover a lot of ground for a very complicated website.
  • Questions will be asked and answered in person, or in one or more video chats, phone calls, or email exchanges.
  • A “Discovery” form is a tool that may be filled out by the client to provide context about company history, markets serviced, trends in the business, and future goals.
  • Taken together, these conversations and tools provide the basis for understanding and agreement.  Together, we will determine generally what the website may look like and what goals will be served as far as what the website will do to advance business objectives.
  • When the Needs Analysis is complete then a meaningful proposal can be prepared.
• Proposal Development
  • My proposals include a general outline of work to be done and reference desired outcomes indicated from our conversations during Needs Analysis
  • A website design proposal is intended to be relatively clear about what is to be done without beating the details to death. There are many ways to do some of the things you may want to be done on your website.  The best combination of techniques may not reveal itself until the work is underway.
    • A Proposal for website design is fairly general and goal oriented (THE WHAT).
      • Most proposals offer up to 3 design concepts, and 3 revisions of a design concept, before work begins in earnest.
      • I will start with a very good idea of the goals and outcomes you desire.  From experience, I will know exactly how some of those goals will be accomplished.  But I won’t know everything in advance.   The Proposal will demonstrate that client goals have been heard and understood well enough that an agreement has been reached to the extent possible at this early stage.
    • Detailed and specific action steps generally come later (THE HOW).
      • There may be a few loose ends that cannot be filled in until the work is begun.
      • For new website design work, I won’t know exactly how many hours will go into design configuration or revision until you select a design theme and the work begins in earnest.
      • If re-designing an existing website, updates of existing theme or plugins may cause functionality to be gained or lost.  It may be that certain features have become obsolete or reached end of life and must be replaced completely.
      • There may be some loose ends or caveats.  If you have a $2,000 budget but have requested a website that looks and performs much like a certain competitor’s $10,000 website, then there will be some decisions to make about how to come as close as possible to your ideal while maintaining your budget.
      • As I work with the themes and plugins the client selects, and get client feedback, one step builds on the other with many interdependent variables.
  • When the proposal is presented, the provider and the client must understand that there will be some flexibility included as far as how the desired goals will be accomplished.
• Proposal Approval
  • When the proposal is approved by written or email agreement, then we will have a document to guide us once the work begins.
• Deposit of roughly 50%
  • A deposit of roughly 50% is usually required in order to schedule the project and begin the work.  Generally there will be progress payments called for as the work progresses.  Another 25% might be called for when the work reaches the halfway point.  Another 15% may be called for when the work nears completion.  A final payment of 10% may be called for once the work is approved as final.  These details can vary with the size of the project.  Small projects, under $1000 for instance, may need to be paid in full in advance.  This is because a great deal of work will be done before the client ever gets to see anything.  Competitive analysis, site architecture, preliminary design considerations, and development of content strategies all take a lot of time.
• Scheduling
  • Once the Proposal is approved, and deposit received, then the work will be scheduled and details will begin to be fleshed out.
• A Scope of Work (a more detailed list of steps to be taken)
  • The “Scope of Work” is a more detailed statement of work to be done than what is in a proposal.  It is a living document that may change or evolve by mutual agreement as the work progresses.
  • I will explore the market category and competitive landscape then search for best in class alternatives for your evaluation.  Together, we will then reach mutual agreement regarding some of the finer details about what will be included in your website design or re-design project.
  • The Scope of Work may still lack some certainty at project start because some steps will influence others.  All the possible interdependent variables cannot be known in advance.
    • Change Orders
      • It is common during the website design and development production work that clients come to know more about what they want done.  They may become aware of alternative choices that were not known before the project starts.
      • It can happen that clients learn more about available options as the work progresses.  Sometimes they notice a feature on another website and decide they want that feature added to their website.  Or a decision may be made that a more complex contact form or image gallery is wanted than was originally thought.
      • Sometimes entirely new ideas are added.  When this happens, a client may choose to do more of one thing and less of another.  Some original ideas may be scrapped in order to stay in budget, or the client may decide to change the budget.
      • Such “Change Orders” are always reached by mutual agreement and can be incorporated in the Scope of Work document by written correspondence, including email.

      Production Stages

      • Both design and development are fluid and interdepending processes that will depend on your input as the work unfolds.  While some details are still unclear, at some point we must achieve an understanding.  Even if that understanding is not entirely perfect, we have to make a start based on a ‘good enough’ understanding of what you want and what might be available.
      • Design Work (Appearance work that overlaps with functionality)
        
        • The design process comes first because the later developed functionalities will need a place to exist within the design.
        • Theme selection is one of the first steps in the design process. Themes govern some of the basics regarding general appearance, page layout, and site functions.  A good theme is not a cookie cutter template but is something that can be configured and customized in a great many ways to meet your specific needs.
        • I will propose one or more themes which seem to best suit your needs from both an appearance standpoint to support your brand and company image, and a development standpoint to address functionality.
        • When I select a theme, it may not be just for appearance sake.  Many themes include highly configurable functions within the underlying code that can eliminate the need for as many plugins later.

        Development Work (Functionality work that overlaps with design)  The functionalities to be added to the site are then added and tested. 

        • A simple example of a function might be a making a contact page that will require certain fields be entered, and allow some to be skipped, then send an email when it is completed.  That form may check a phone number or email address to make sure it is valid.
        • Or perhaps you want an email newsletter with the ability for visitors to subscribe and the ability for you as site owner to write articles and send the newsletter to all subscribers from time to time.  Perhaps you will want eCommerce functions such as the ability to upload product images, descriptions, and prices to an online store where visitors can place orders.  Some other functionalities might include the ability to calculate actual shipping costs based on the product weight and customer location.
        • Maybe you just want visitors to be recognized when they return?  Or perhaps you want customers to be able to create a complete user account so their preferences and ordering history will be saved.
        • Perhaps you will want distributors or retailers to see the best wholesale price while consumers see only the full suggested retail price?  All of this work happens in a fluid processes that will depend on your input as the work unfolds.
• Testing
  •  The website design appeal and functionality are tested by the client, and perhaps potential or actual customers of the client to make sure everything works as intended.
• Approval
  • At this point, it is agreed in writing that the client is satisfied with the design and functionality and any remaining final payment is made.
• Handoff/Launch
  • Handoff happens if the client will manage the website following completion of the build.  Access to the “back end” of the site is provided to the client so that words and pictures can be changed as needed when the client wishes.
  • Launch happens when the website goes live, or becomes available for public use.

I guarantee that I will do a good job for you.  I will invest the time and effort required to create what you want, to the best of my ability, within the reality of your budget.  In the end, there is a certain level of trust required.  By reviewing the work I have done for others, you will have a reasonable understanding of what I can do for you.    If you are not satisfied for any reason then I will endeavor to resolve any misunderstanding and/or revisit the work done to improve it.  In all fairness, there must be an understanding at some point that the budget may impose limitations on what can be accomplished.