Website Design
hpdDesign can completely design and implement your website, no matter what size or complexity. From creating a basic brochure website to initiate your presence on the Internet to a full-blown e-commerce website, we can meet your needs and exceed your expectations.
We carefully match your business or individual needs with the capabilities of the planned site. We’re not in the business of selling add-on features for the sake of the feature, only when they are part of giving your website the functionality that will meet your visitor’s needs. We specialize in making your site easy to use so that no one needs to experience the frustration of visiting your site and trying to figure out how to get to important webpages
Website Design Process in 7 Steps
When creating a new website design, we work very closely with the client to assess both their needs and the needs of their site visitors. The design and approval process has multiple steps to make sure that your project is carefully thought through and implemented with rigorous professionalism.
- PLAN: The first step is to hold a conversation about what you want your website to be. This includes how it fits into your business or personal goals, what you would like to say, what features are necessary (photo galleries, ecommerce, blog, calendar, etc.), the principal pages for the website (Contact Us, About the Company, Our Products, etc.), review of existing printed materials or logos for a branding match, identify the content that needs to be written including sidebars or call-outs. Select a domain name and check its availability and have a discussion about the best colors to use to appeal to your prospective demographic.
- PROTOTYPE: After the fact gathering, we put together a visual sitemap (flowchart) of your planned pages based on content discussions, then create a static image of what your site will look like. Most clients will share this image with others and solicit their feedback. We’ll tweak this image until everyone is satisfied.
- TEST: After creating the site “look,” the shell of the site will be built on a temporary site not available to the public. The client will have approval points throughout this process.
- DEVELOP: Site content starts getting filled in, with content written (either by us or by the client), photos and demonstrative graphics are finalized and the navigation framework is fully fleshed out. During this process, we evaluate all the content for its potential for search engine keywords. Optimizing your website for keyword searches on search engines like Google, Yahoo, Ask and Bing is an ongoing process that plays a role in each development step.
- IMPLEMENT: After the design is fully implemented and the website content is complete, we setup a hosting account, upload the website and point the domain name to the site. Email accounts are setup at this point. We will also set up Google Analytics, Google Webmaster and Bing Webmaster accounts.
- ANNOUNCE: After the site is online, we recommend sending out email notices to the client’s contacts, including the website address on all correspondence and printed material and using every other opportunity to let people know that your brand-new website design is now complete and live. The website is submitted to the major search engines using an XML sitemap.
- PROMOTE: Consider PPC search, remarketing (retargeting) or display advertising. Social media integration strategies. Put into place ongoing SEO reviews, analyze traffic patterns for visitor flow, make website modifications to improve the visitor experience, based on pages viewed. Implement your measurement plan and monitor goal progress.
If you have any questions about this process, or would like to discuss having hpdDesign create or manage your website, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs and provide a free, no-obligation website design quotation.
