Web Design Getting started

Let’s get started
After a potential client has been through the onboarding stage, which we wont
cover in this post, we schedule a meeting - this meeting can either be face to face
if you’re local or a Skype video call - I can travel to your offices if you prefer.
The purpose of the meeting is for us to discuss your project in detail - this gives
me an idea of the priorities, overall goals and project complexity.
Whether its a new website or an existing one, we will cover pages you need,
what functionality you want, existing branding.
We’ll talk about colours, typography and images - the look and feel you are after
and logos, websites you love and hate - all of this will help me when it comes to
the design stage - it helps me visualise your project.
After our meeting, there are a few things that I will need you to do. I will need
you to create a pinterest board or a word document and fill it with visual
inspiration for your website, complete the design questionnaire and have upload
all your website content (text and photos) to the Google Drive folder I share with
you.
I will then work on your project proposal - this will detail how I intend on solving
your problem in detail, the cost and the contract - don’t worry, the contract is
written in plain English and it’s designed to help both of us in case we change our
minds during the project. It will also explain what happens next.
What happens next
Providing you are happy with the proposal, contract and there are no amends
needed - but you are free to suggest amends.
A typical project is split into three stages, Design, Build and Live - but before the
first stage can start - I will need you to have signed and returned the contract, as
well as a down-payment of 50% of the total project cost. This enables me to
schedule you in, create a project plan and start working on the design.
We will be in constant contact throughout all of the stages and you will have
access to the Project Hub - a place where you can check the process of your
website. While you are checking, if you find any issues at this stage, I will need
you to log them on a spreadsheet that will be created for this project - this
allows me to focus on getting things done and we wont lose track of any issues.
Finishing up
We will catch up once more before the site goes live. If you have chosen a CMS, I
will show you how to update your website, we will go over the documentation to
make sure it all makes sense and you are able to edit your site.

After I receive the final payment, the website goes live, and you can start sharing
your new website. But this isn’t the end, I will always be on hand to help you with
your website, if you get stuck or have any issues or decided to add more to it.
My process is not set in stone, and neither should yours - it should be constantly
reviewed and changed to suit your needs.
The 6 Steps of the Web Design Process
Quality web design is much more than building a website,
and having a step-by-step approach to web design projects
shows all the work and skill involved in developing a
successful online presence.Quality web design is much more than
building a website, and having a step-by-step approach to web design projects
shows all the work and skill involved in developing a successful online
presence. Maybe you’ve never thought about your approach to the web design
process in these terms, but maybe the outline in this post can help shape your own.
Take these 6 steps, create a special page on your freelance website, and point new
clients to your web design process. Most clients will prefer a clear, actionable plan
for their web design project, and clarifying your website design process will help with
communication throughout the project, ultimately leading to happier clients–and less
work (and headaches) for you.
Step 1: Discover
The Discover phase of the web design process is all about information-gathering.
This step is important for you to understand more about your client’s business and
industry, their target market and customers, and the ultimate goal/aim for the
website.
While it’s easy to skip the discovery and planning steps and jump right into design,
these first two steps are critical to building the correct website for a client’s needs.
Questions to Ask Your Clients During This Step:
• What does your business or organization do?
• What sets your business or organization apart from your competition?
• Who are your competitors?
• Who is your ideal customer?
• Describe the concept, project or service this site is intended to provide or
promote.
• What is the goal of your website?
• Who is coming to your website?

• What is your dream for this website?
• Is there a budget for their web presence?
In addition to these questions, this post offers 65 Questions to Ask During Your Next
Freelance Client Meeting. The suggested questions in this post are divided into
seven main groups: client, project, audience, brand, features and scope,
ecommerce, and time and budget. Each group offers important areas of potential
information that will help shape the overall web design project.
Using the approach included in the 65 Questions post, the
Discover step of the web design process is really more like
an initial consultation meeting with a potential client.Using the
approach included in the 65 Questions post, the Discover step of the web design
process is really more like an initial consultation meeting with a potential
client. During they Discovery phase, you can better gauge the chemistry between
you and the potential client, investigate the working conditions you will have with the
potential client, and estimate the scope of the project.
This meeting is also when you can inform the potential client about your process of
web development (hint: this post!), and suggest additional features that can meet the
client’s goals. This is also a good time to educate the potential client on the
importance of your ongoing services for website maintenance.
Step 2: Plan
Just like information-gathering, the planning step of website design is a critical part of
launching a new website. As designers, it’s easy to want to jump right into the design
step, since that’s the most creative (and enjoyable) part of a project. But, ultimately,
research and planning will help clarify your objectives for the website and guide your
design, so spend a generous amount of time in this stage of the process. Just like
the saying, “measure twice, cut once,” spending time on
website planning is a good investment that will ultimately
save you time and even money in the long-run.Just like the
saying, “measure twice, cut once,” spending time on website planning is a good
investment that will ultimately save you time and even money in the long-run.
During the planning phase, you’ll want to review or create an SEO strategy for the
website. Since websites often organize lots of information into a user-friendly format,
this is also a good time to get an idea of missing content before you start designing
anything. The planning phase also helps clients understand their role in meeting
deadlines with content so the launch process isn’t held up.
The planning phase of website design includes 3 basic tasks:

1. Review or Create an SEO Strategy
If you’re new to providing SEO services to clients, we have several free SEO
training and basics of SEO training videos available. You can also check out the
SEO Summit for 9 hours of intensive SEO training.
• Consult with the client on search terms for their business/industry
• Research and review keyword volumes
• Create a spreadsheet of keywords/keyphrases
• Audit existing content for SEO focus
• Make a list of SEO content needs to fill gaps
• Map keywords/keyphrases to existing or needed content
2. Create the Website Sitemap
After working on an SEO Strategy, it’s time build the website sitemap. A sitemap is
essentially an outline of the structure of the pages that will comprise the website.
Planning the sitemap prior to working on any website design has several benefits
since you can build your design around the most important pages, plan the website
navigation more efficiently, and get an overall idea of the content that still needs to
be written.
• Using your SEO Strategy, build a sitemap with appropriate page hierarchies and
content silos.
• Create an actual document for your sitemap/site outline. You can use the sitemap
as a checklist to guide the project.
• Include basic website pages (About, Contact, etc.) plus additional
keyword/keyphrase pages.
3. Content Review & Development
The last part of the website planning process includes an in-depth review of the
website content. You’ll need to take an audit of existing content (if the client has a
website already) and make a plan for producing new content. Clients can be
responsible for creating new content, but sometimes it’s helpful to contract with a
freelance writer to finish up content needs.
• Review existing web content
• Ask for non-web content such as brochures, business cards or flyers
• Hire or assign writers for content needs
• Put deadlines on content completion
Step 3: Design

The third step of the web design process is to design how the website will look. In
this step, a website wireframe is created with basic web page elements such as the
header, navigation, widgets, etc. The wireframe can then be moved into a more
realistic mockup using a program such as Photoshop.
The challenge of good web design, like all design, is balancing form and function.
Use the information you gathered in the Discover and Plan steps to shape your
design. Good web designers have intention behind every design decision.
Design should also accommodate content. Content often accommodates design
instead, and content ends up receiving very little attention. Website content is the
number one thing you want viewers to notice. For each page design, ask yourself
these questions:
• What is the main goal of the page?
• Is it clear to users what action they need to take?
• How does the design encourage users to take an action?
Good web designers also keep in mind how a design will translate to code. Even if
you aren’t doing the development yourself, as a designer, it’s a good idea to invest in
your coding skills. Have a developer review a design before it goes to the client.
Finally, use the Design step to finalize the overall look of the website with the client
and discuss decisions for colors, typography, and imagery. Confirm the design with
the client before moving on to any development.
Step 4: Develop
In the Develop step, the website design is translated to actual code that makes the
website work. This stage can be the most lengthy, so keep clients informed on the
status of the project.
A 3-sentence email like this one is great for maintaining client communication:
“This is what we did this week (past). This is where things
are (present). This is what’s next (future).”
The basic steps of website development include:
• Install WordPress on a localhost or testing server.
• Install a starter WordPress theme.
• Install a WordPress backup plugin like BackupBuddy. Running a backup plugin
during development makes it easy to 1) revert file changes and 2) move the site
to the live domain or server for launch.

• Using the mockup, translate the design to the live site.
• Test and optimize along the way.
Step 5: Launch
Finally, it’s time to launch the website. Since there are so many steps involved in
launching a website, it’s a good idea to use a checklist to make sure you haven’t
missed a step.
Use these checklist posts to make sure your website launch goes smoothly:
• The Complete WordPress Launch Checklist for Developers
• The Essential WordPress Website Launch Checklist
• The Ultimate WordPress Checklist: 80+ Tasks for Every WordPress Website
Owner
Step 6: Maintain
This last and final step of web design is often overlooked by freelancers, but website
maintenance is important for the long-term health and success of a website, as well
as a source of potential recurring revenue.
Before a new website project even begins, educate potential clients on the longterm
responsibilities of owning a website. Just like owning a car or house, a
website will need upkeep and maintenance.Just like owning a car
or house, a website will need upkeep and maintenance. Offer a monthly WordPress
maintenance service to take website maintenance tasks off your clients.
On a basic level, a WordPress maintenance service includes the following necessary
actions to keep a WordPress site running smoothly:
• WordPress Updates
• Theme and Plugin Updates
• WordPress Backups
• WordPress Security
• Analytics Tracking & Reporting
• WordPress Hosting
WordPress maintenance can also extend into other areas of website upkeep such as
SEO, adding new content or updating existing content, comment approval/replies,
spam cleanup and more.

If you manage multiple WordPress sites, use a service like iThemes Sync to manage
WordPress updates and more from one dashboard.
Ask your clients: Is there a long-term strategy to edit, update, and promote your
website? Who will be in charge of maintaining the website? Be ready to offer your
monthly maintenance rate and inform clients about hourly rates if they need you to
fix website problems, make changes to content, etc.
A Smooth Website Design Process
By following the 6-step outline above, the website design process should go more
smoothly. With a little research and planning, your website design will be more
informed. By following a checklist for development and launch, you won’t miss
crucial steps. And finally, maintaining a website protects the investment made in
building the website. Ultimately, clients will be more satisfied with their experience
and see the value in their website.