Analyze
You are the client and you know your business better than anyone. It should come as no surprise that you have the best view of how you want your website to look. The biggest problem however, is communicating that idea to others. Your business is your livelihood, and you need a designer who understands your wants and needs.
It all starts with a meeting. Here you get to tell me everything about you and your business. What’s your favorite color? How do you like to spend your weekends? What’s your favorite movie?
You’ll leave with a timeline and a quote in hand, but you’ll also leave with a feeling of accomplishment. It won’t be long before your online presence is established as nothing but the best…
Design
Two days pass from our first meeting; you get to the office early that day, prepared with a fresh cup of coffee and sit down at your computer to check your morning emails. What’s this you see? Ahh, therein lies your project proposal. Here you see the complete overview of everything: the purpose, the proposal, a map of the site, the color scheme, and of course, a full-color site design (I save the best for last). You and I both know that a good design sells, and a bad design… well, hopefully that’s why you’ve come to me in the first place.
“I’m impressed,” you reply, “let’s do it.” Now see, this morning I too have had my coffee and you’ve given me the nod. And like a relief-pitcher, I go in and make it happen…
Develop
Luckily for the both of us, I’m bilingual: I speak both English and code (okay, I also speak a little German and Russian, too). Sadly, you probably don’t understand code, so allow me to double as your personal translator. Like walking into a scary cave without light, this is often a little daunting for the client. Once again though, I’ve come prepared… I brought matches.
So I carry on my way, drinking coffee, playing funk music through the speakers in my office, and typing to my funky, little heart’s content.
A week or so goes by, I’ll drop in here and there along the way to let you know of my progress, and before you know it, your website lies at your finger-tips. Feel free to move around and click things, or even show your colleagues! The journey isn’t over yet! But fear not, now it’s time to put your new online home to the test…
Test
Of course, your website took a trip through the dry cleaners, but naturally we still have a few kinks to iron out. Let’s face it, neither of us want this website to have any imperfections so now I get the dubious task of running through every nook and cranny and changing anything that doesn’t work 100%. While I would love for you to enjoy everything about your website, this is the time where you tell me what you want modified.
But breathe! Assuming we’ve finished all the dirty work, we’re ready for the most exciting part. And guess what: it comes with a big, red button and you’re at the cockpit…
Release
Fore it was perhaps two weeks ago and you were probably scratching your head wondering what you were going to do. “Neigh,” I said, “impossible is nothing,” and we began our journey and oh what a journey it has been! But notice the graphic of the cycle to your right, it loops! “Preposterous!” you declare, but indeed we’ve created more than just a website, we’ve created a working relationship. I guarantee you will come back time and time again with future projects.
And of course, if you ever want to do something a little different or maybe just mix it up a bit, I’ll always be around to guide you through the loop…
