From Idea to Website

The process of getting from an idea to a live website generally follows the same steps and consists of three major milestones -- kickoff, draft design, and final tweaks.

Kickoff Meeting

Initial kickoff meeting to discuss your goals for the site, what's working on your current site, what isn't working, etc. Here we go over strategy to determine how an updated website is going to help you reach your goals, whether it's gathering leads, communicating with an audience, or an e-commerce store. During this meeting we also go over your existing site if you have one.

With this information in hand, I put together a first draft of the website that has the basic structure, but only placeholder text and photos. At this stage we want to make sure all the major components are present such as hero section, contact information, about us, etc.

Draft Design

We'll then meet again so I can get your feedback on the design and explain some options for how it can be altered. At this point I'll ask you for your branding graphics, text for all headings and content, and photographs.

With the design and content mostly finalized, I'll build the site and put it on a developmental web address for your review.

Final Tweaks

The last step in the process is to make any final edits and do a hand off of the site. Hopefully by this step we're very much on the same page and only a small number of minor changes are needed.

Your site will transition into a maintenance phase where any future changes are done according to your maintenance agreement.

Timelines

As you can see, your feedback is necessary at every step. Not every milestone requires a meeting, as email/text/chat can also work, but without your input we can't move forward. How long it takes to go from idea to website depends on how quickly you can provide me with materials and share your thoughts. It can be as short as two weeks or take several months.