Web Design » Our Process
Our Process
Web design is as much about function as it is about art. We have the know-how to make your site an effective tool for your organization and the creative minds to leave your visitors with a lasting impression.
No one knows your business or organization as well as you and we understand that. Therefore we involve our clients in the process as much as they like. Our process has proven very effective and left our clients with great web sites that truly embody their organization and work well!
This is the most critical step. If everyone isn't on the same page from day 1 the project is bound to suffer delays and setbacks. Our kickoff meeting involves a web manager from AIS and your web site committee (note: we recommend committees be limited to 3-4 people to prevent too many conflicting opinions). This is where we get to know you, what your image should be, your goals, personality, and much more. Our kickoff meeting will cover a broad scope and often requires at least a follow up phone call.
Determining the scope of the work and the design themes is next. We evaluate everything from our meetings with you and put it into a clear work agreement with timelines so you know what to expect and when to expect it.
If our first two steps don't separate us from other web firms, our design process truly will. Our creative team discusses the project and then breaks off to work on the design concepts. We have 3 graphic designers each create their own concept based on your input. This serves several purposes:
- gives you more options in a shorter time frame
- even if other firms offer multiple concepts, they are typically variations of a single designer's idea
- mix and match elements or layout styling from different designs and combine them to make the perfect site
We then present the 3 concept designs to you in PDF form to review with your web site committee. In our experience 1 of the designs is very close to exactly what you want with just a few revisions necessary. We will listen to your feedback and provide a revised concept within just a few business days.
Once the site concept is approved we then begin the build process. This involves turning the graphical concept into a web-friendly format, configuring the content management system (CMS), creating any necessary custom modules, and loading all of your site content into the CMS.
As our development process winds down we provide you with a sneak preview of your functional web site. You will recieve a link to our testing site to preview the functionality and look. Final tweaks are made as you see fit and we make your site live when you say "GO!"