Our 8-Step Process
How do we build amazing websites every time? Simple. We have a top-secret, patented, trademarked, eight-step process, which we keep hidden in a booby-trapped vault under 24/7 surveillance. Actually, that’s a lie. But we do have a simple eight-step process:
Discovery
Whenever we build a site, our first priority is to learn about you. That starts with a kick-off call or meeting. If possible, we get together, have a coffee, and talk. We want to know all about your organization. We also want to drill down into why you need a new website. Is it to legitimize your company, provide support to existing customers, or drive sales? In short, who should visit your site and why? What actions should they take? And what would constitute success for your new site?
Design Concepting
The next step is creating a design concept. We start by zeroing in on your preferences and needs with simple questions: What websites do you like most in terms of design — and also in terms of functionality? Are there colors or images that you prefer? To what extent should your existing design aesthetic — such as your current logo or marketing materials — be incorporated into the new site? Eventually, we create a design that merges your aesthetic and functional requirements with our best practices.
Search Engine Optimization
If no one sees your site, it isn’t helping. So our goal isn’t just to build you something that looks pretty. It’s to build a website that’s a marketing machine, driving your business forward with new sales. When someone Googles a popular key phrase in your industry, your site should pop up first. That’s one reason why we’re the best design company in Washington DC — because all of our websites are built from the ground up with our proprietary search engine optimization system.
The Work
Once we’ve agreed upon the concepting and design, the work begins. We start with a site map, illustrating how all the pages interconnect. Once you approve that, we proceed to build out the templates. A lot of companies rely on mockups and wireframes. But the drawback is that you’re not seeing your actual site — and then it goes live and you might not like what you see. With our sites, we design them in a real-world sandbox, so you can see the site and give feedback as it’s being built. In other words, you don’t have to use your imagination to see what your site actually looks like on, say, a phone or tablet.
Quality Control
Before your site goes live, we run, literally, hundreds of quality control tests — checking for everything from broken links to back-end glitches. In addition, we ensure that your site is compatible with all major browsers, including Chrome, Safari, IE, and Firefox. Whether your visitors are using Apple or Android devices, tablets, laptops, desktops or phones, your site will always display properly and load quickly. And it will run smoothly and efficiently on both the front and back end. We don’t go live until all our quality-control boxes are checked.
Launch
At this point, your site is built. You’re thrilled with it. Now you understand why we’re not just the best design company in Washington DC; we’re the best web design firm in the USA. We’ve run extensive quality control tests. All systems are go. It’s launch time. Just give us the green light, and your site is now visible to the world. Because we include Google Analytics with each of our sites, you’ll be able to sit back and see exactly how much traffic your site is driving, who’s visiting it, what pages they’re looking at, and where your visitors are coming from.
Training
Not only do we build your site, we also teach you how to use it. Once your site goes live, we spend hours training you. This includes personalized training where you connect up to our computer and we walk you through how to make updates and other changes to your site. So you’re in complete control of your own site. We even provide you with videos, written documentation and other reference materials that you can use to train others.
Ongoing Support
We don’t just build your site, train you and walk away. We provide ongoing support, as often as you want. In short, we’re there whenever you need us. Whether it’s a quick support phone call, renewal of an SSL certificate, or a major programming project, we’re always ready to help. Behind the scenes, we also handle all the geeky tech concerns like hosting, backing up content and data, and ensuring that your site is always up-to-date with the latest security patches.
