Define. Design. Refine.
Website development has been called “the most hostile engineering environment imaginable.” That sounds scary, but it’s accurate. Websites are complicated — they have lots of moving parts. Wrangling those parts into a useful customer experience takes a lot of skill. Try to do it yourself and you’ll quickly learn the “hostile” part.
The problem
The old-fashioned approach to website design involves all sorts of static files like wireframes, mood boards, mockups, and “stylescapes.” Unfortunately, few of these files are functional: you can’t click, slide, scroll, navigate, select, or resize. After a few weeks into your project, you’ve got a jumbled collection of files that you can’t make sense of.
The solution
Our simple 3-step system shortens the whole development timeline by weeks — Saving you time, money, and frustration. It’s also really simple — First make it work, then make it work better. We even provide a fully functional demonstration website to share progress during the design process. No more cryptic PDFs or baffling mockups to decipher and approve.
Our system
Effective because we have a clear and tested process.
01
Define
There’s no need for committees, teams, PowerPoint presentations, or conference calls. We start by answering a few simple questions:
- What is the problem?
- What resources (money, people, skills, time) are available to solve the problem?
- Based on your current resources, what skills and technology are obtainable to provide a solution?
02
Design
Based on answers to the questions above, we begin building your website guided by the following principles:
- Design with the notion that parts other than HTML and CSS are optional.
- Execute core functionality using the simplest available technology.
- Provide a fully functional demonstration site to share progress during the design process.
03
Refine
High performance websites aren’t built overnight — They’re the result of hundreds of small refinements over time. That’s why we always include a post-launch support period to monitor site performance and make incremental site improvements. A few of the metrics we focus on are:
- Conversion rate optimization
- Website traffic analysis and visitor patterns
- Content review and refinement
Build a marketing machine
For a more in-depth look at the structure that guides our development and design decisions, please review our digital marketing framework. It includes the six key elements necessary to position your website in the marketplace.
Where are the cat videos?
Except for you, no one is going to visit your website because of its cool design. People show up for the content and cat videos. Design makes the content easy to find and a pleasure to use, but it’s not what people are after. The Web is made of content. Design is what holds all that content in place.