At Union Square Design, we give websites the face-lifts that they need. The Internet changes rapidly; it’s easy for a website to look outdated, even if it’s just 5 years old. We work with a variety of platforms, to ensure that each company we work with has their unique website goals fulfilled. We use a 6 step process for website redesign — this ensures that your website will be the best business tool that you have. Because even if you’re selling incredible services, your business will suffer if your website isn’t great. Here is our process, outlined below.
STEP 1: Define the Project
This step is for you. First, gather information by going online and looking at different websites that you want to emulate — scoping out your competition is a good idea and great starting point. Also, checking in with friends and colleagues can bring great insight.
Define what you like and don’t like from the information you gathered from those websites. Ask yourself: what would you like to see in yours?
The Gather and Define stage is fun but can often be intimidating if you’re unfamiliar with web design. You may decide to use the expertise of a web designer, like us. A web designer can be a great resource — they will guide you in the “creative brief“. The creative brief is a design plan that we create before any work gets done. We will work together with you to create this plan during the kickoff meeting.
Purpose
What is the objective of my site? Is it to provide a service, a product, or information?
Goals
What is the goal of the website? What do I want visitors to do upon visiting my site?
Audience
What is the target audience? Who do I want to visit my website?
Content
What message am I trying to get across? Are visitors looking for products, information, or something else?
STEP 2: Planning
With the information gathered from Step 1, you are now able to create the blueprints for your website redesign.
- Creating a sitemap. Sitemaps help organize the website’s navigation system. To create one, simply list all the main topics followed by subtopics for the website.
- Creating a wire-frame. A wire-frame is the skeleton of a website; it’s almost like the blueprints of a building. On a wire-frame, you’ll plan out how content, images, and other site items will be arranged.
- Thinking of content. Decide what you want to communicate on your website. This will help with wire-framing, as you’ll figure out how much content you need to present.
STEP 3: Mock-up Website Redesign
Creating a mock-up. A mock-up is a full-size website model, that previews what the site will look like once it’s built. This includes content, pictures, your logo, colors, typography, and more. The mock-up allows flexibility for us to make modifications before the website is built.
- Any changes you’d like to make should be done during this stage — doing them later will cost more time and money.
- During this stage think to yourself: Is the flow and functionality running smoothly? Do I like the way it looks? Does it fulfill the site’s goals? Is it appropriate for my target audience?
STEP 4: Development
After the website redesign has been created and approved by you, it’s time for us to rebuild the website. The designer/developer will implement graphics and interactive elements to make your website functional. They will also make sure that shopping carts, contact forms, dynamic links, etc. are working properly.
During this time, we can make minor changes and corrections.
STEP 5: Testing and Launch
The site has been built, and it is now time to make sure that everything runs smoothly. The development team will work to identify any bugs; the developer will make sure all of the code is correct.
Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for is finally here! After you have approved the site, it’s time to launch and make your site live to the general public.
STEP 6: Maintenance
Now that your website it up and running, it’s important to maintain it. During the planning stage of this process, you would have decided whether you would keep up with the maintenance, or have us do it for you. If you decided you would maintain the site, we would’ve created your site on CMS platform. This gives you the ability to edit the content on your site, as well as add new pages and posts.
Developing your website doesn’t end once it’s online. Keeping up with web development trends, posting new and relevant content, and ranking higher in search engine results all takes time and constant maintenance.
