First, we learn about your business, who it serves and how.
We look at your goals and marketing strategy, and how your website fits in with the rest of your marketing, both offline and online.
We deep dive into your branding and messaging.

When we understand your business and precisely how we can help,
only then do we lay the first pixels down.

I’ve been working with website clients for almost 20 years, and what I know is this:  Your situation is unique.  Your story, your goals, your business and personal needs…  they need a way to unfold that allows for that uniqueness to express itself.

Over the years, I’ve worked out a process that does just that.  A process that creates websites that fit your budget and your strategy for success.  Not a cookie-cutter process, but one that calls forth the best of you and your business, and highlights your unique identity and offerings. (Website in a Week is a streamlined, accelerated version of this process.)

Exploration & Discovery

discoveryFirst, we’ll explore how your business wants to express itself on the web.  I’ll ask lots of questions, like:  What are your goals for the business – personal goals, financial goals?  What motivates you?  Who do you serve, or hope to serve?  What products or services do/will you offer?  How have you been marketing your business?  And many more!

What we discover will help me create a detailed picture of where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you want to be – with your business and with your web presence.

Vision & Strategy

vision-strategyIn this step, you’ll clarify and refine your vision and we’ll come up with an initial strategy to get you started – knowing that the strategy may evolve as we implement it.

What’s your vision for you and your business? They aren’t separate, after all. You and your business are deeply intertwined.

What goals will move you toward that vision? What’s the plan for achieving it? How do all the pieces and parts work together – and how does your website and the rest of your internet presence support that? How will that plan unfold in this iteration of your website? Having a clear vision and strategy for your website is crucial if you want it to be a success!

Crafting Your Compelling Content

language-contentThis can be the toughest part of any web project. Telling a compelling story to the right people in the right way is not always an easy task. While the web is a visual medium, language plays a key role – whether that language is delivered via text or graphics or audio or video.

I’ll coach you in getting clear on your story, your audience, and your offerings, plus help you refine it until it’s stellar.  (And if you feel that writing isn’t your thing, I can arrange for custom copywriting that truly connects to the people you want to reach.)

Designing Your Audience Experience

design2This is where it all comes together.  Design is the outward expression of you and your business.  Design is how your visitors experience you and what you have to offer.

Good design doesn’t distract or get in the way of that experience.  Good design enhances it.

Good design invites your visitors to take action.  Action that fosters engagement and retention.  Action that results in sales of your products or services.

During this step, I’ll co-create with you the layout, the colors, images, typefaces, and graphics that tell your story.   (If you have an existing brand identity, we’ll incorporate that.)

The completion of this step involves the initial testing and refining of the way visitors move through your site.

Launching Your Website

launchIf you build it, they will come.  (Only in the movies, I’m afraid.)

You can soft launch your site, or you can make into a REALLY BIG EVENT.   How you launch is dependent on a number of things that need to be taken into account along the way.  Some are technical, some will be dictated by your business model, and some will be about your personal style.

Together, we’ll plan your launch so that it fits in with your larger strategy for your internet presence.

Tending the Garden

gardenYour awesome new site just launched! Now what?

A well-designed site is essential, but not sufficient on its own to create success.

A web presence isn’t a static thing, it’s a living thing… and it needs tender loving care to thrive.  And that means keeping your content fresh and interesting.  It means keeping an eye on traffic to your site, and learning what visitors stick around for.  It means constantly paying attention to what’s working and what isn’t – and making appropriate adjustments.

You have to tend your garden if you want to harvest anything.  It won’t do that on its own.

Which bring us back to the beginning of the process.

Keep re-discovering your customers and their needs.  Revisit and refine your vision and strategy on an ongoing basis. Adjust your language and content and your user experience as needed.

Learn and grow along with your business, and you’ll do well.

There’s a lot these days to being present on the web in an effective way.

From the Discovery phase all the way through to Tending Your Garden on the web, I can help you with some or all of it.  Strategy and coaching are a big part of what I do.

Many of my clients have been with me for years. I know who they are, I understand their businesses, and we’ve met the challenges of the ever-evolving internet together.

Every project or consultation I do is tailored to meet the needs of my clients.  From starting with a simple website, all the way through to complex launches and campaigns, I’m here to help you build an effective online presence.

One step at a time.

Ready to get started? Contact me!

PS: I also rescue and repair websites and web projects. If you’ve been abandoned by your web designer, or they aren’t showing up on time and getting things done when they say they will, maybe it’s time for a change. Contact me and let me help you get moving forward again!

susannaMunro has build two websites for me and he is outstanding at what he does. Munro weaves together a background in art, design, marketing and sales, and communication and then combines that with his extensive and ever-growing technical expertise. The result is someone who can create a website that’s visually beautiful, structurally simple and elegant, and perfectly suited for my particular needs. In fact, Munro goes the extra mile in learning what my needs are so that he can design and build a website that’s exactly right for me. His communication is excellent, his work ethic impeccable.

Susanna Maida
ReWeaving the World