The Road to Smart, Beautiful and Functional Websites.

Your website is one of the best tools for communicating with people. It’s the foundation for your entire digital presence, whereas your social platforms and marketing strategies are supplementary and intended to drive users to your site.

So, what happens when your site is due for an upgrade? Undertaking a brand-new website project may seem daunting, especially if it’s uncharted territory. If that’s the case, you’re in good company. Many of our website clients come to us having inherited their sites from now-departed team members, meaning they understand what is and isn’t working, but not necessarily how to fix it.

The good news is we’re whizzes when it comes to web work, and the handy info shared below will help guide you on the journey to a smart, beautiful and functional new website.

Pre-Planning Work for Your New Website Project

Having a clear vision of your wants and needs, as well as realistic expectations for how to achieve them, will make finding a website partner much easier. Take some time to ponder the following considerations at the start of your website redesign to stave off obstacles later on.

• Timeline: Comprehensive website redesigns typically take around 9-12 months, depending on the size of the site. If you have a goal launch date in mind, count backward from that date to determine when you will need to officially begin working with a website partner. This timeline doesn’t account for interviewing potential website partners or reviewing scopes of work.
• Budget: For a custom website, expect your investment to start around $60,000 and go up, depending on the complexity and features. Factors that can increase the cost of your site include the number of pages, desired functionalities and any third-party integrations you might need.
• Desired Functionality: Decide on the features you want—custom animations, social media feed plugins, event timelines or calendars, or perhaps an integrated map. Having a general idea of what you do and don’t need will help any potential website partners provide an accurate cost estimate for you and ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Inspirational Sites: Surf the web and identify sites that captivate you. You don’t have to love every single thing about them. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. It’s just as important to learn what you don’t like as it is what you do! We suggest starting with your competitors, as their site structures will likely be the most similar to yours, but don’t be afraid to branch out to uncharted territories, like the site of your favorite clothing store or a cool local restaurant.
• Additional Costs: Remember to factor in expenses for SEO, hosting and plugins.

Key Terms: Your Web Design Glossary

Get cozy with these essential web design terms—you’ll be hearing them a lot:

• Information Architecture: A visual representation of your site’s infrastructure, features and hierarchy.
• Site Plan: A visual layout that maps out where your web pages exist in relation to one another.
• Wireframes: The visual layout of a single web page without the use of brand colors, fonts, photos, etc.
• Content: This is all the delightful text, photos and links that make your site unique.
• Atypical Pages: These are pages that may need special attention in wireframing and designing because they are unique.
• Server: A computer that holds all of your website’s information and shares it with visitors of your site.
• Hosting Provider/Host: The company that owns the server(s) where your website exists and allows the world to access it (ex. GoDaddy, WPEngine).
• CMS: Short for Content Management System, this is a platform that allows you to access and edit your site’s content in an interface rather than manually having to code it (ex. WordPress, Drupal, Joomla).

Finding the Ideal Web Partner

Now that you’ve done your homework and studied up on those handy terms, it’s time to start looking for the right partner to help you design and develop your new site.

Interview Questions to Consider

Ask potential partners these essential questions to ensure they’re the perfect fit:

• “How familiar are you with our CMS and hosting provider?”
• “Do you offer post-launch maintenance and training?”
• “What is the total cost, and what does it include?”
• “Do you work with our membership database?”

Expertise and Guidance

A great web design partner will:

• Conduct a Thorough Audit: Review your existing site and analytics to make smart decisions for your new website.
• Provide Expertise: Guide you through the design process, ensuring the site is user-friendly and compliant with standards.
• Manage the Project: Keep the project on track, help with content organization and ensure timely delivery.

Tips for Maintaining Your New Website

Once your website is live, you’ll need to run some routine maintenance checks to ensure it keeps running smoothly.

• Update Content Regularly: Refresh your site with timely updates like removing past events, swapping out staff listings and changing photos as needed.
• Add New Pages Wisely: Consider whether new content should be added to existing pages or if a new page is necessary. If adding it to a new page means it’s buried behind a long click path, we recommend adding it to an existing page or creating a CTA block on a more prominent page to drive traffic as needed.
• Manage Plugins: Regularly update plugins and install only those that are essential to keep your site running smoothly.

Embark on your web design journey with confidence, knowing that while the path may be winding, the destination will be a stunning, functional digital presence.