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A Minute With Jessica


Published by: Jessica Brozyna 05-06-2013  |  POSTED IN: A Minute With Jessica

How to Prepare for a Website Design Project

 
Over the course of the last few years, I have seen numerous clients walk away from web design projects and it is usually not due to the inability to pay for the rest of a project, but rather the fact that the project itself seems so large and intimidating, it seems easier to walk away. Since I have seen this problem numerous times, I decided to write a guide to better help prepare clients for a web design project that addresses the who, what, and why questions involved.
 
The Why
Most business owners and anyone with a personal brand know that they need a website in today’s economy. However, they often do not know why they need a GOOD website. It is no longer sufficient to have a static page with your name, address and phone number. You cannot just copy Wikipedia content to describe your services, and people now can recognize overused stock photo images so they may get turned off by a lack of authenticity.
 
The Who
A good website is rarely designed and built by one person; programmers are often different types of people than designers, who are often more creatively inclined. At LA Dezign, we have three major players in the design and development process: the Project Manager, (usually me), our designer, and the programmers. My role is to make sure that the design fits with the client's brand image, meets SEO's best practices, adheres to the sitemap, and is optimized appropriately for conversions. Our designer then develops a web design in the style that best reflects the brand, with client input being integrated at each stage of revision. Once the pages on the site are designed in Photoshop, the files are sent to the programmer to start coding. Experts at breaking a part and organizing complex code, the designers are able to take the image and turn it into a website that functions. Once they have pieced everything together and uploaded the content, I often will do a review to ensure that the links are all working, the images show in various browsers and that forms and other interactive elements are functions.
 
The What
Preparing materials is one particular part of the design process that frequently stalls the project. Before signing the contract, you should be aware of the things that you will likely have to provide. If you do not have text for every page, images that you want to use, your login information for a pre-existing site, or logos and branding materials, you have to ask yourself where they will come from. Do you need to hire a writer to come up with content or have someone in house do it? Do you need us to select stock photographs to use, or do you want to hire a photographer?
 
Here is a list of things you will need to provide or obtain:
 
- List of website designs you like
- Images, which generally need to be 72dpi and for banners (ca. 1000pixel wide to match a standard browser size). Scans of brochures are not usable on a website.
- Your company logo (ideally a working file such as: .AI .EPS or .PDF format)
- Any colors, style and font choices established already for your brand
- A list of all pages on the site with images assigned to the pages as desired
- Headlines and corresponding images for a home page banner
- Content (typo-free) to fill the main text areas on the home page
- Navigation menu items
- One master word document with a separate page with content for each page of the site
- Social media icons and account links
- Your registrar information
- Webmaster access
- FTP login and Cpanel access (if we are not hosting the site)
 
In conclusion, if you are building a site, just take it one step at a time. If the process still seems overwhelming give us a call at (877)-SEO-4050 (877-736-4050), e-mail us at [email protected] or make an appointment to sit down with us and we will help you go over your desired project.
 
Thanks for reading. Jason.
P.S. Don't forget to subscribe below to this blog.
 
About Jason Ciment
Formerly an attorney and CPA, Jason has been working online since 1997. His columns on affiliate marketing can still be found on www.Clickz.com and his book on search engine optimization can be found at www.seotimetable.com.

This blog is published 4x per week and covers website design and SEO tips as well as a wide range of tips and advice for working and living online more efficiently and enjoyably.
 

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