TEXT
You may already have text from a previous website that you want to update or you may have none at all. Brochures, reports and other publications may offer you a good start. The designer or content developer will take this to edit into something usable for the new website, keeping in mind what key words need to be added for search engine optimization. This is a start and you will have to involved in the editing to make it work for you.

GRAPHICS AND PHOTOGRAPHY
If you have a logo, that is a good place to start for color exploration. Not having a good logo may provide an opportunity to include that design in your agreement. Photographs you may already have should enhance your color palette and brand. If you do have good photography, the designer will suggest or select the ones that will be placed on the home page. Another option is to purchase high quality photographs from a stock agency. Designers will look for photographs with the right colors and style for your site.

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
Mapping out the layout is key to good user experience. Your visitors will need a clear understanding of what you do and how you will help them. Your designer will create a design that provides a satisfying pathway for a visitor who follows through with a call of email to find out more.

SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH
When all the functionality is set and the layout is finished, your designer will launch the site and make sure everything is working correctly. Flow, typos, links and software kinks need to be worked out. Your site should have a security certificate and your new site should be added to search engines and social networks. Incoming marketing efforts can begin to provide traffic to your site which can then be tracked.

Your involvement as website owner is necessary to achieve good results from your website from the very beginning to the end!

First off, we developers/designers gather information from the client. I ask a lot of questions and take notes. (Funny thing is, I don’t usually go back to the notes, but I have them, just in case.) Sometimes the client has an existing website and sometimes not. Without content there is no site, and sometimes it takes a little prodding to get the ball rolling. Looking at other similar business sites can help. Working from an existing business plan or from printed brochures is also helpful. I tell my clients, “Just write out the ideas and don’t worry about the grammar, the spelling, or the construction. Just let the ideas and thoughts flow. We can get something out of that.”

Then, there is the development of the content. How do we organize it? What exciting things can we add to give the visitor a good experience? I get a lot of ideas during face to face discussions with the client. I really like this stage and I think it might even be my most creative moments. Now what about branding? Do they have a decent logo? Sometimes not and we have to tackle that first.

We then roll up our sleeves and get to work on the design. Sometimes I create what they call “Mood Boards”. Three or possibly four pages of color palettes, photos, typography, graphics, and icons. For instance: One is dark blues with script type and ocean photos. Another can be bright warm colors with purple icons and cool graphics. The client picks what they like and maybe we even combine some of the ideas. It’s a tool to find out what the client likes but filtered through the experience of the designer. Same with stock photos. I like to build a light-box and invite the client to choose the pics they like. All of the photos have been pre-approved for the design.

Now the most difficult part of the job, the build. I set up a folder on my server. I upload and install WordPress, our main software, log onto the dashboard and install the theme. Start creating the menu with the page names and text. Build the pages. Place text, logo, photos, icons, illustrations, graphics, headers, links, forms, video, sliders, portfolio galleries, portrait photos, testimonials, site map, credit lines, SEO editing, widgets, side bars, secondary menus, blog posts, event calendars, shopping carts, call-to-actions, opt-in boxes, newsletter, social media links. Did I leave anything out? Build the pages with all these items, then, change your mind, tweak a lot, move things around.

A few weeks of work ensues. Once approved, I point the domain to the files on my server or migrate the web files to another server of their choice. (But not Go Daddy or Network Solutions, please.) Another important piece is I recommend that the email be separate from the website. Use gmail and forward web email to that. Or set up email with your domain host. You don’t want the email to cease if the web site is down for ANY reason.

Next week, Maintaining a site.

He was an influential graphic designer who followed the International Typographic Style of sans-serif fonts and a grid layout formula. As a member of  the graphic-design office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late 60s, he produced beautiful posters using letter forms and manipulated words as vehicles to express content. This innovation is still used today in modern graphic design.

Dietmar taught me that you must include your client(s) in the process of designing a logo. This is done via an interview, usually face to face, where the designer interviews and writes down words and expressions that the client feels is important to the brand or purpose of the company. Perhaps it is a group of important players in a board room. Not only does the ceo feel included in the process, but a contribution is made from many that is invaluable in the process.

The designer then goes back to his artboard (or computer)  and the thinking phase settles into a few good ideas. Combining several images to create one that expresses the right tone and message is the goal. This process can take days or weeks, which is why logos are not inexpensive. The end result is not usually the first idea and it is not the most obvious or cliche. The designer may present 3 or 4 ideas and then the one chosen may have several iterations. Colors and use in print or web also have to be considered. Different sizes for different purposes as well. On the side of a van? On a t-shirt? Or, just letterhead and website. Sounds easy, right?