As a creative website design and development studio in Las Vegas, NV, 702Web often works with individuals that need assistance throughout the web site development process.
We have developed our own process to assist beginners with truly understanding the building blocks of designing and developing a great website.
Every web design studio is different and they will have a different work flow based on their past experiences and determination of what works best for them. However, as a client going in to a web design agency, it is important to have a general understanding of what to expect when you walk in the door.
Most web design and development studios will prefer to meet with you before they give you a price. Be wary of freelancers or individuals who will quote you a price over the phone without ever sitting down with you to truly grasp the concept of your needs. Also be wary of those that charge a flat rate for web design. Chances are, someone that just spits out a number will not understand the project or the branding objectives and will feel overwhelmed, the work will suffer, they’ll feel undercompensated and it will either cost you more to fix it, or you’ll be unhappy with the end product. It is critical to be open to sitting down and meeting with a representative from the website design agency so they can put together an appropriate proposal.
Once you have met with someone from the studio, they may quote you a price verbally after the meeting, but more than likely they will draft a written proposal that outlines your needs, the features that you website development project encompasses, the amount of time that is estimated and some studios will even put together a mood board that visually represents how your website could look.
As a client of one of these website design agencies you should do your research. Unfortunately, the web design industry is notorious for flaky developers. Be sure the firm you choose to move forward with has solid references or testimonials, and a concrete portfolio that you genuinely like. The initial meeting with the design studio is also a good way for you to filter through to the people that you like personally. A good report, something in common and a mesh of personality will make your experience much more pleasurable (yours and theirs!). Just because someone is a good developer or very creative doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the best person for the job.
Once you have decided to move forward with a web design and development agency, your project may go through several phases. Las Vegas based web site design studio 213Web has a 3 phase process for an initial website build: Design, Development and Testing.
PHASE 1: Design
Design is very important. This is the phase where the designer goes to the drawing board for the first time and brings your ideas to life. Usually, design is presented in a non-functional format, such as a PDF or a JPG image of your website layout. Changes during this phase are highly encouraged. When a designer is designing your website visual changes and alterations are made more easily than if the changes were re-programmed each time. During this phase you and the designer will go back and forth, changing colors, fonts, placement of images, and placing the features in appropriate places. Usually a firm will provide you a layout for your home page as well as a content page (like your “About Us” page or a product purchasing page) so you have an idea of multiple layout options.
Once the design has been finalized, the designer will send their work to the web programmer who will now make the design into a functioning website.
PHASE 2: Development
You, the client, may not be too involved during this phase. This is really where the coding and programming come into play. Once the programmer has programmed the website, they might set it up on a test server for you to view and play around with. There may be some modifications made during this point, but for the most part, it will just be making the visual layout (during Phase I) come to life.
**It is important to remember that web developers are not copywriters. Typically a web design agency does not write the text for your website unless they have a staff writer. More than likely you will be responsible for providing content – no one knows your business better than you. Each web design and development studio will have a different process for content. 702Web typically doesn’t plug in any text until the website is ready to be launched live. Please be sure to discuss the content aspect of this website build with your agency so you understand what you need to do and how you can help the studio with finishing your project.
PHASE 3: Testing
When the website has been deemed “complete” in terms of design, content and functionality your website should go through several days (depending on the size of your website) of testing to ensure all inks are working, feeds are pulling, sign-ups and forms are properly functioning, maps are set correctly, content is spell-checked and grammatically correct, images are placed appropriately and any other glitches are fixed.
Once everything is A-OK your website should be launched live and you’ll be on your way!
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
Be responsive with web developer and designer. They would like to complete your project as quickly as possible, but if you do not respond to their emails, they may take their time in responding to yours and your project could drag out for months and months. Agencies typically work at the pace of the client, so if you’re slow, they’ll be slow too. 702Web has built highly robust and intricate websites in as little as 7 days because the client was very quick to respond. Others have taken many months. Usually when websites take longer, a web design agency will set financial limits or contract end dates. Otherwise the agency loses money. Be sure you are respectful to them – the longer the website project takes the less money they make. As a fellow business owner, mutual respect is important.
702Web is located in Las Vegas focusing on getting businesses seen online! For more information, call (702) 530-7440 or email: info@702web.com.