Website Design Process

This information may give you some idea of how I work, and what might be involved in a website design project.

Preliminary - review design guide, discuss, ask questions, submit fee estimate.
Prepare - domain registration, hosting, purchasing and installing software, etc.
Create - develop layout, navigation, imagery; build site.
Launch - upload site, begin free submission to major search engines.

Preliminary

I review your design guide and respond with my comments and any questions I may have (there are always questions). At this time I also like to do some quick research using data from the guide. I do this to help familiarize myself with what is currently out there for your site topic or industry (site trends, commonalities, differences, what to avoid, etc.), and possibly even get some early inspiration.

After further discussion as needed, I will submit a fee range estimate for your project based on the data and information supplied to that point. Because no website design project is ever without changes, additions, modifications and deviations from the original plan - I do not give a to-the-penny quote. Each range estimate is based on the available data on hand, your input, your budget if available, and my experience and knowledge of what it will take to complete your project.

Prepare (as needed)

Upon acceptance of my estimate and initial payment, I will assist with the basics such as registering a domain, securing and activating website hosting, and selecting and securing any software or 3rd party applications that may be needed.

Now is also the time to gather all the images and content to be used on the website. This may involve purchasing royalty free stock photography, as well as editing of existing images as needed for internet use.

Create

This is the fun part ;). At this point I will begin putting together rough draft(s) of your sites main (home) page for review. Once a base layout is decided upon, I then begin building the entire site, page by page. There is a lot of coding, installation and image editing, etc. involved, and this phase will comprise the bulk of the project.

Launch

After the website is completed, approved, and ready for public viewing I will send an invoice for any balance due. Upon confirmed receipt of payment I will upload the website to your host location and begin the included free one time submission to major search engines.

I also include 7 days of post-launch support to fine-tune the site and fix any issues that may crop up relating to the design and function of the site. Major changes, additions, etc. must be estimated and approved.

To insure that your new website remains active, functional and up to date, take advantage of the variety of Internet Resources, Site Management, Search Engine, and Website Enhancement products and services available.

As always, please contact me with any questions or comments.