Our Design Process

1. Quote Request

The whole process is kicked off once you fill out our Free Quote Request. This questionnaire assists us in identifying the exact needs and goals of your business. It also gives us the detail of your project and its complexity.

Our quotes are comprehensive so you can easily compare them to quotes from other companies that you may be considering.

This is considered to be the beginning of the Planning Stage. The first step is to

We have put together a few questions that will hopefully help your project get started on the right foot. Some questions will be directly beneficial for us; others will simply help you make decisions on certain aspects of your project.

If any of the questions are confusing, just ask and we will explain them further. And some may not apply to your project, so simply skip them.

2. Project Quote

Area Web Design will then email a quote including cost breakdown, time frame and project details. Our quotes are comprehensive so you can see exactly what you are getting. There are no hidden costs or markups. They are also guaranteed for thirty days to ensure that you have plenty of time to compare it with the other quotes you receive.

Once you have reviewed and approved the quote you can simply send us an email letting us know to get started.

3. Requirement Evaluation - Planning and Research

After the initial contact and questionnaire evaluation a more detailed and in depth questionnaire will be provided to you during which our Project Manager will determine the scope of your project.

We will request that you give us in digital format all the materials that you have relating to your project such as content, images (images can be photographs that we can scan), and related print material. We will also get a more detailed idea of the color scheme, navigation, layout, branding, logo, fonts and any other information so that we can integrate it with the look and feel of your new website. Your Project Manager will help you determine how your web site should look, feel, navigate and react to user choices.

We will discuss the history, current status and goals of your company. This will be a 2 way conversation where you will tell us your ideas, outlines and thoughts on exactly what you would like your web site to do. We will offer our ideas and suggestions and help to build a concrete web solution that will meet or exceed your needs. If you have an existing web site and/or print material we will review that as well. If you need a complex web application built with front end design and back end database we may recommend a complete system analysis to determine the scope and specifics of your application.

4. Project Review Area

This is exactly what it sounds like; a central area where you can review all your updates.  Here is an example of one of our clients “Review Area”: http://www.thewd.net/review0635. All of your files and updates will be placed on this page for your viewing. Other Web Developers send their clients emails with attached pictures and files. We found it hard to visualize updates properly using that process. So we developed this review area so you can see how your site will look on the actual Internet. You can access this page anytime you want. We will also leave all the updates up so you can go back and compare, if need be. We send you an email after every new update or change telling what we did and why. You can then go to the review area to check them out. You then send an email and tell us know exactly what you like, dislike or want changed. We then get back to work redesigning. The end result is the perfect website that you envisioned.

Then the fun begins. You describe what you like, dislike and want changed. Be specific as possible. Give us examples of other website design elements that you would like incorporated into your design template. If you like a particular color or style of another website, send it to us and we will change the design.

Each project is a little different, so we may do numerous rough drafts for your review. We will try and make them as original and differing as possible so that you can choose from a wider range of possibilities.

As we receive feedback from you, we will make “tweaks” and adjustments to one or more of the drafts. Sometimes our clients have us take a certain aspect of one design and “merge” it with another.

5. Graphical Design Concepts & Approval

We will then provide you with a design concept to either approve or be tweaked until you are 100% satisfied. We do not stop revising your template until you are completely happy. We only use custom designed templates for your project that 100% captures your unique identity.

6. Site Architecture and Database Development

We will begin to build the XHTML and CSS frame work of the web site.

If a database or custom application is required we will then begin to build the backend or foundation of your web application. Depending on the type of development work required, it can start earlier in the process.

Your web site will be built online in a secure development area that only your organization can access so you can witness every aspect of construction and make comments when necessary.

7. Adding content

Content is the generally responsibility of the Client. You are the expert when it comes to your individual business and know what you want your site to convey. This includes all the text for the site — sales pitches, about page(s), how to contact you, services, etc — as well as photos in a gallery (We prefer all text in “MS Word Format or typed in an email”). When it comes to your business, we understand that you are the expert in that specific field.

This is typically the time frame when everything slows down. To prevent this, you can start to prepare ahead of time. In fact, it would be a good idea to, so when the time comes to add it you have it all organized and ready to go.

8. Testing

We subject your web site to rigorous testing to ensure that your web site works efficiently and with no hiccups. We test your site for compliance in various browsers, operating systems and internet connection speeds. After the development work is completed and integrated, we will conduct quality assurance (QA) to make sure that the site functions in all anticipated situations. Once all "bugs" are eliminated, the client will approve the web site's functionality on a test server.

9. Go Live

Welcome to the World Wide Web! At this stage we submit your website to all the search engines so they can begin tracking and rating your website. This is where most Web Design Companies finish. However, we take it a few steps further.

10. Monitor

As a full service IT Solutions Provider, we go beyond the standard development process. Since we provide web hosting and SEO services for our web development projects, we are committed to the ongoing success of your web site, and thus our relationship does not end. Monitoring your site for errors, performance, and visitors statistics play an important role for long-term success.

11. Maintain

As your business requirements change, so too will the needs of your site. Successful web sites that generate visitors day after day, year after year must be kept up-to-date with fresh new content. This is why we offer web site maintenance services to all clients, whether or not we initially created your site. In time, your site may become outdated and need a fresh look, and so the process begins anew, and we will be here to help.