Getting a new website or having a redesign can be a really complex process even if you have already done one in the past. Because of this, we decided to pull back the curtain on our VIP Website Design Process and let you know what the different phases are that we use.
Every website is a bit different; however, each will go through the same process regardless of website size or budget.
We have 7 distinct phases in our website design process, but our onboarding and offboarding phases happen concurrently with other phases.
Here is what your VIP Website Design roadmap will look like:
- Onboarding & Design Phase
- Revisions Phase
- Build Phase
- Deployment Phase
- Delivery & Offboarding Phase
PLEASE NOTE: Within each phase, there are certain tasks that must be completed on both sides, the client side (you) and the vendor side (us), prior to moving to the next phase of our VIP Website Design process.
If the tasks are not completed, then the project will stall and the entire process will come to a standstill. Because of this, we send out regular updates and reminders to keep everyone on the same page.
Onboarding & Design Phase (2-3 Weeks)
The onboarding portion of this phase is all about setting your VIP Website Project up for success so we can make sure your new website is delivered to you on schedule.
During the onboarding portion, we gather the necessary login information that we will need such as:
- Email Service Provider also called ESP or Autoresponder
- Domain Registrar, where you purchased your domain name
- Any social media links and/or logins
- Hosting information (if you are not using our free 1 year of hosting)
We will also set you up with a few of the tools that we use to manage your project and provide additional transparency. It’s almost like looking through the window and watching a chef cook your favorite meal.
Here are the tools that we will give you access to:
- Google Drive – We create a client inbox for uploading large files.
- Asana – This is our task and project management software.
- Wistia – We record all our sessions with you to keep everyone synced.
We also use other tools to make communication between us simple and efficient.
For scheduling our online meetings such as project updates, website reviews, and strategy sessions, we use ScheduleOnce
To make sure that we don’t miss any requests, important updates from you, or information you send us, we use HelpScout to track everything.
As we complete the onboarding phase you’ll be all set as we move forward.
The design portion of this phase is always exciting because you get to work with our design team headed by Tiana to get your ideas to come to life right before your eyes.
You will have a design session where your new logo, colors, and overall look and feel will be decided as well as what pages will be on your new website. Unless otherwise specified in your agreement, 10 pages have been allotted for.
We will also need any images you would like on your website at this point. Without the images, we can’t incorporate them into the design elements of your website.
This is one of the tasks that is critical to the process. If you don’t provide the images and pictures you would like to use on your website at this time, the entire project will stop until we get them from you.
During this phase, the initial mockups, the image of what the website will look like, are created. We also create a style tile, which is a branding guide with your colors, fonts, and other branding information. We will be able to build your website from these documents down the road.
We do provide all the branding documents to you during the offboarding phase, but if you would like the Style Tile beforehand just send us an email and let us know.
Revisions Phase (1-2 Weeks)
During this phase, you’ll get to see for the first time what your new website will look like. We do another online meeting to review your website. These are only images so we can make quick changes or tweaks to your design and get on to coding (building) your site for you. It’s normal to have 2-3 revisions during this time so we can make your website awesome for you.
If this is a brand new website, or if we are creating pages that are not already on your website, then we will be asking you for written content. This will depend on what types of pages will be built on your website. If you have questions about this, now is the time to ask.
If we have the written content by the time we are building your website, then we make sure that everything is formatted correctly for you.
Build Phase (3-4 Weeks)
This is where the rubber meets the road. After we get the final version of your website design, then we are able to start building out your custom theme. We no longer use 3rd party themes or frameworks to build child themes for your WordPress website. Because of this, we are able to create a more custom and unique website just for you.
If you have a really custom functionality such as ecommerce or a membership site then this phase can take longer. For most of the website that we build this phase will only be 3-4 weeks.
When the website is functional and on our staging server we will have another meeting with you and walk through to make sure all the functionality is performing the way that you expected. After this, we will prep the site for deployment to your hosting. Which means that we will get your new website ready to move to the domain that you purchased.
Deployment Phase (1-2 Weeks)
After our walk through with you for your website then we schedule a day for deployment. That means the day we move it and make it live on your domain. To have minimal interruption with your business this is only done on a Saturday. Depending on the current deployment schedule this may be the Saturday after our meeting or the following week.
After your new website is live on the internet for everyone to see then we have an extensive QA process, quality check, we go through every page and the backend admin area to make sure that everything is working properly.
After we have gone through the QA for your website that is when your 60-Day Bug Free Guarantee begins. We have an extensive quality assurance process, but that doesn’t mean things won’t occasionally change. The WordPress Core team and plugin owners constantly make updates to their work which is why we offer a 60 day Bug Free Guarantee as our warranty.
Delivery & Offboarding Phase (1 Week)
The next week after your new website has been moved to your domain and is live for everyone to see then we do our final walkthrough with you so you can do one last check and make sure everything is displaying and functioning the way that it should.
At this point, you should already have access to the bug reporting project we have set up just for your website.
As we move to the offboarding phase it doesn’t mean that our relationship is done it simply means the project has been completed. During this phase, we create any custom training videos for you as well as do the website marketing strategy sessions with you so that you can get more leads from your website and protect the investment that you just made with us.
Also during the phase, we remove access to different tools that we set up specifically for this project such as deleting the videos in Wistia, archiving the Asana projects, and removing access to the Google Drive.
Conclusion
Now that you have a website your work is not done. Getting traffic to it to help grow your business should be an ongoing priority. If you haven’t already joined our Facebook Group then now is a good time. We talk about what’s working now in online marketing and frequently provide free tips and training to help you use your website to grow your business.
Click Here to join our Facebook Group.
If you are looking to use a team of experts to build your traffic, leads, sales, then reach out to us and ask about the same marketing strategies we used to get you here. We can help you grow your business as well.
Click here to schedule a discovery call to turn on your marketing for your business.