Our website design process at Nancy Burgess Strategic Marketing Inc. is a bit different from most other website design companies.
Most website development companies will build you a spiffy-looking site that considers your users (prospects/customers).
You typically provide the copy and images.
By contrast, we also think about the details that Googlebot considers, that is search engine optimization (SEO). Not just if you pay extra—but every time.
Googlebot is the robot (proprietary Google program) that crawls your website. Googlebot (and other search engine spiders or bots) determine whether your website appears toward the top of the search returns—or deep in the results.
Our goal is to generate relevant website traffic by getting your business on Google and other search engines. Not just for your company name but also for website users who have never heard of your business.
At Nancy Burgess Strategic Marketing, we build our websites with both your users AND the search robots in mind. Here’s our website design process.
Step 1: Define the Project Purpose and Scope.
In the first phase of the project, we define your objectives for the website.
Who are you targeting as your audience? Prospects? Customers? Both?
What do you want your users to do when they visit the site?
How will we measure your goals to ensure they are met?
In addition, we define the scope.
How much does it cost?
“How much does it cost to build a website?” SMBS wisely want to know.
Unfortunately, the answer is, “It depends.”
It’s akin to asking, “How much does it cost to build a home?” Is it a studio apartment or a mansion?
- How many pages will your website need?
- Do you have an existing site? How close (or far) is it from the ideal setup?
- Will you supply your body copy (text) and images?
- How much editing does the copy need to make it optimized for SEO?
- Will you need a logo or favicon?
- Does your staff need training?
- Will you need an ongoing blog?
- Do you want custom illustrations or photography? Do you want us to manage that for you?
Once we know the project objectives and the scope, our digital marketing agency can provide a proposal.
Step 2: Kick off the Project.
When we have a signed agreement, we lay a solid foundation for your website. This includes:
- NAP document
- Brand Identity document
- Website Audit (if you have an existing site)
- Keyword Research
Doing our website research
At this stage, we use two proprietary documents to help build your website presence. The first we call a NAP document. It stands for name, address, and phone number. But the document contains much more than that.
Your NAP document will help portray your company consistently across the internet. It will also help with your SEO, including your local (in your area) SEO.
The second document is your Brand Identity document. It will help us with messaging, showcasing, and differentiating your brand from competitors.
If you have an existing site, we’ll audit it with our special software and manual inspections. During the audit process, we’ll also look at free Google tools.
The website analysis
We’ll discover what’s working on your site—and what’s not. What’s more, we’ll consider up to 100 keyword phrases and how you’re ranking for them. If relevant, we’ll run reports that look at local search engine optimization practices and other Google algorithm factors. In addition, we’ll see which pages have the most website visitors. We’ll see which pages Google likes to show your users. Furthermore, we’ll see if you’re making any SEO mistakes.
All this research will help inform our navigation and the words on your website.
Did your last website developer include all these steps—without you paying a LOT more?
Why do we bother? Two reasons.
First, when Googlebot (and other search engines) crawls your pages, the words on the pages help tell the robots what the page is about. As a result, content in the form of words is one of the most important algorithm (the formula that search engines use when ranking your website) factors.
The second reason is that our DNA does not allow us to build a half-baked site.
Step 3: Design the Website and Create the Content (Writing and Images).
This is the phase where we work our magic. We begin to build the site. At the same time, we write or edit the website copy that will go into the site. In addition to using the NAP and brand identity documents, we may interview you to better understand your business. We will apply best practices for SEO and for writing on the web.
Copy and design are done simultaneously on separate but intersecting tracks. Mostly we’ll work on the copy first, which will determine the design needed.
We don’t simply force your messages into the same template, page after page. We create what your business needs.
We’ll get you a domain name and a host if you don’t already have them.
If you lack custom photos or illustrations, we’ll scope these and create them for you.
Alternatively, you can provide photos, or we can purchase stock images.
Step 4: Review Copy and Approve Images.
We’ll optimize the copy for search engines and include your brand messages. We’ll write in a way that speaks to your target audience of customers or prospects.
You’ll be able to track changes, edit the copy, or add clarifications. We’ll review your edits and update the copy for a final review.
Likewise, you’ll review and approve the images you want on your website.
Step 5: Place Assets on the Website.
Once the copy and images are approved, we’ll place them on your website. (It’s much easier to change content in a Word document than on an existing website, so we want to avoid or minimize text changes made on the draft or live website.)
Step 6: Test the Website.
You’ll have a chance to review the website to ensure its accuracy. Make sure links work. Check for any spacing or spelling errors. We’ll want to see if the site works on all devices and the most common web browsers.
Step 7: Approve Final Website and Launch.
We’ll update any last-minute changes and get your written approval. With your approval, we’ll push the site live.
Additionally, if you want to publicize the launch of your site, we’ll write the press release for your approval.
We’ll also post it to media outlets. We can include it on social media.
Step 8: Maintain the Website.
Websites need to be maintained, or they will break. Whether you have us update your plugins, platform, and themes, or you have your host do it, it needs to be done.
With a maintenance agreement, we’ll always make minor monthly edits for you.
Summary
At Nancy Burgess Strategic Marketing, we’ll take you painlessly through these 8 steps of the website design process.
Whether you need a one-page or multi-page website, we can help you build the site that meets your goals.
Recent Websites We Designed
To see recent websites we’ve designed, contact us.
Nancy Burgess
