Websites promote you 24/7: No employee will do that.
~ Paul Cookson
Web Consultant
Ridding the world of ugly websites, one at a time.
Web design is actually about much more than making a site look pretty… but let’s face it, if it ain’t pretty, it ain’t workin’ for ya.
Most of the time your website is going to serve as your first impression to potential customers and clients. Imagine for a moment that your website was a brick and mortar store, and that your visitors arrived to see flickering lights, poorly stocked merchandise, ineffective directional information, and long lines at the checkout. They would leave frustrated, unlikely to make a purchase and never come back!
You could have an amazing product, the best customer service, prestigious industry awards, etc, but if you skimped on a poorly designed site that is in-congruent with your brand, you let it get outdated, or it fails technically, you risk your site visitors never becoming buyers because you did not communicate the greatness you have to offer, provide a positive experience or establish trust in your brand.
Well, I can just use one of those fancy website builders…
Sure, the big players in the website builder space have come a long way. They boast dozens of professionally designed templates that usually offer some kind of drag-and-drop function and selection of fonts and colors. But, here are some of the issues you might run into while using these services…
Learning Curve
Although they are meant to be user-friendly, there will always be a learning curve. Do you have time to complete tutorials? Contact customer support if something goes wrong? Wouldn’t you rather spend your time doing what you do best – running your business!
Limited Functionality
Some platforms try to provide everything for you… statistic tracking, email forms, etc. But usually, these things are pretty basic. Even if you believe that you only need a “simple” site or it’s just an “online brochure” – your website can still be one of your most powerful marketing tools.
Square Peg, Round Hole
Selecting a template you like the look of may make website creation seem easy – you plug your content into the sections provided for you. But if you look at it another way, you’re actually limiting what your site might do for you and your visitors.
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
You may not have to know or write code to use any of these platforms, but there will always be technical things you need to be aware of. Search engine optimization? Not done for you. Image optimization? Not done for you. Creation/addition of Google Analytics tracking code? Not done for you. Writing effective copy? Not done for you. Creation of assets or photography? Not done for you.
And what about the soft skills? Have you ever studied the psychology of web marketing? Thought about content strategy? Analyzed the effectiveness of your site based on visitor data?
Why hire a designer?
Other than saving you time, a designer will be able to look at the big picture, creating a birds-eye-view strategy and plan everything down to the tiniest detail. Essentially, a good web designer is a strategist and consultant, who navigates the myriad of options available to give you the most effective solutions for your situation.
Every design decision made for a website is multi-layered. What you see on screen is the tip of the iceberg.
A professional designer will evaluate your site’s goals, create a plan to meet those goals and use years of experience and continual research of an ever-changing online landscape to make sure that your site it doing everything it can for your business.
Our Web Design Process
Discovery
It all starts with a get-to-know-you questionnaire, designed to lead our discussion and helps us uncover your story, your goals and personal preferences. It is the springboard to create something that uniquely represents you and will be an effective marketing tool.
Research
Then we proceed with research into your target market and your industry or niche. How do we make you stand out in this crowd? How can we play to the psychology of your potential customers? How can we turn your leads into customers? What functionality is required to serve your visitors?
Concept
The next phase is creating the visual direction. Whether we’ve worked on your brand or not, we’ll make sure that the site’s style is a cohesive part of your overall brand. Static mockups and wireframes are submitted for your review.
Development & Testing
Once you’ve approved the overall look and style and ironed out all of the functionality, we build the site. Hello, code – you’re lookin’ good. We’ll test all the site’s functions before it’s made public to ensure a smooth launch.
Learn more about working with us →
Recent Web Design Projects
Website Packages We Offer
Though we are happy to tailor a package to your particular needs, we find that, most often, you’ll fit into one of these categories.
Starter
- custom design tailored to your brand
- responsive design, appropriate for various devices
- up to 5 pages, including blog
- basic functions (like image gallery, contact forms, etc)
- site plan & content strategy
- on site SEO using current standards
- set up/integration of Google Analytics + Search Console
- set up of domain name and hosting
- training and launch strategy
Level Up
- everything from the Starter
- up to 10 pages
- advanced content (custom post types, filtered/categorized news or blog, etc)
- advanced functions (like eCommerce, forums, video, etc.)
- advanced Google Analytics Event tracking + A/B testing
Don’t fit in one of these categories?
You may have a site that needs reworking or maybe a one-pager will be the right solution for you. One-size-fits-all is not the case in web design.
Just give us a shout – we still might have some options for you!
Still have burning questions?
We understand that a full overhaul may not be desirable for your situation and we’d be willing to consider this on a case by case basis. If your site has been built reasonable well, is less than three years old and you have complete administrative access, you might be a candidate. Fill out our form and we’ll take a cursory look!
The easy answer is no. There are a myriad of options out there, so there’s no one-size-fits-all training program. It would be an ineffectual use of our time and yours!
That being said, for any website that we create, we provide training and support! We’ve done the research, have experience in the solutions we’re recommending and always utilize a content management system. This means that you’ll be able to update your site if you want to!
We consider ourselves WordPress specialists and use it to develop sites almost invariably. It is THE most flexible and widely used content management system, powering almost 50-60% of CMS powered websites, including ~15% of the top 100 websites in the world and 30% of the internet as a whole!
It depends! Not every site is the same… some take more planning, some require asset creation and procurement, some require more testing.. AND, you need to participate in the process! You’ll need to take time to review, give us feedback and provide content.
We like to allow 4-6 weeks for the “average” site, but this requires timely communication from you. If you have a deadline, just let us know and we’ll give you an honest assessment whether it’s feasible.
Not technically… we really feel like you should be the owners of your accounts. BUT, we will function as the administrators – you’ll never have to worry about the technical stuff. We’ll set up everything for you, but you’ll pay the providers’ annual fees directly (not to us).
YES! Creating websites for more than ten years means that we have experience with most of the providers out there. We know which to avoid – and which are great! Website hosting is not created equal!! In fact, we may be a bit snotty about it and require you to move to one of our recommended providers because we’ve learned just how important it is! You can really impact your website performance and security (good or bad) by the web host you choose.
Sure! Many site owners like the ability/flexibility of maintaining their own site (and we’ll train you how). But, if you’re busy running your business – or want continuing strategy – we’ll set up a monthly retainer with you that covers content, updates, security, statistic tracking, etc. You’ll never have to worry about it!