Here's an overview of what we need and an overview to help guide you along before we begin!
1) What We need to get started
Your Logo
PDF, EPS or high res JPEG or PNG if possible.
Images & Videos
Current and/or new images and pictures you’d like to use on the new site.
Hosting Credentials
Your hosting account login and/or Cpanel username and password.
Content
Page content and any updated verbiage/information for the site.
Wordpress Login
An administrator login to your current WordPress site. (if you have one up already)
Style Guide
Brand style guide, colors or any specific design requirements.
These items can be uploaded to your basecamp project account or uploaded to your secure dropbox folder.
2) BASECAMP
Basecamp is an awesome online platform for communication and project management. We’ll be using this to send messages, share files and track progress during the process. This will help alleviate content and images being lost in long email threads. Everyone loves email threads…right?! (Don’t worry you can still use your email. The messages will post directly to basecamp!) Once your project is underway, you’ll receive an email to set up your basecamp profile and we’ll be off and running!
3) Google Drive
Google Drive is a great online image/file-sharing platform. This isn’t necessary for every project, but if you have more than 15-20 images for your website or if they’re too big to send through we can use Google Drive. We can also use this to share important logins and credentials instead of sending through email. I will set up a folder for the project and will share the folder with you via email. You can upload all images and files there.
4) THE DESIGN PROCESS
Designing a website, no matter how big or small, is an extensive process that can be overwhelming. To better help you understand what to expect during the design and development, I’ve outlined my process into 3 steps:
1)Layout and Design
Initally our time is designing and developing the correct layout to fit your business needs. First, I’ll create the sitemap (Page/Menu hierarchy) of the website for approval; then I’ll design the home page and a subpage (or more upon request) for approval.
2) Development
Once the site layout and design are approved, I’ll design the entire site and pages and add all functionality and plugins. Your site will be created and optimized for various desktop views to ensure we have the layout complete before moving to mobile optimization.
3) Edits and Revision
Once the desktop site is ready for final review, you can review each page for likeness and correctness before starting mobile optimization. We can make detailed edits until the site is completely revised. Please review ALL pages to ensure that all spelling, grammar, addresses, and information are correct before going live.
5) WRAPPING UP & GOING LIVE!
All unnecessary plugins, pages, images, and backend files will be removed once the site is ready to go live. The new site will be backed up and saved locally, should it ever need to be restored. Once live, the new site may take 24-48 hours to pull up on some devices. Some computers will need to be refreshed to see the new site. However, most computers will see the new site immediately depending on the wifi connection and where they are in relation to the server location that the website is on.
Your website logins and all credentials will be sent to you via Basecamp or secure email, ensuring the security of your passwords. Though your logins and passwords will be saved by me locally, PLEASE SAVE ALL LOGINS FOR YOUR RECORDS AS WELL. Upon completion, you’ll receive a link to my “moving forward” page, where you’ll receive tips and tricks on what to do with your new website and also information on our Maintenance/Security Plan, which I highly recommend for all my clients.