Website Design
A website is one of the best ways to let the world know what you do. I’ve had the opportunity to build a wide variety of websites over the past ten years. From campaign websites driving engagement to collaborative websites for large environmental initiatives. From business websites with e-commerce functionality to simple sites showcasing local shops or freelancer portfolios, like this one!
Here are some common questions I get about website design:
-
Simple, beautiful & valuable.
Achieves your objectives.
Responsive to any screen size.
Search Engine Optimized (SEO).
-
There are a few great options for building websites quickly and easily these days, and I have experience working with quite a few of them.
The website builders or platforms that I currently work with and recommend are:
Squarespace. Best full-service website building software for most types of websites. Their award-winning ‘templates’ are modern, responsive, search engine optimized (SEO) and set up for e-commerce. Squarespace is an established & reliable company with their own content management system (CMS) and a suite of in-house services including website hosting, domain registration, and email & marketing tools.
Shopify. The clear choice if the primary purpose of your website is ecommerce, Shopify’s website builder and CMS is trusted by millions of online merchants worldwide. Shopify has an extensive ecosystem of 3rd party apps to help online businesses automate and scale.
-
Once a client reaches out to me about building their website, the first step is usually connecting for a call to make sure the vision is fully-understood, to talk pricing, and to lock down a timeline if the project is a fit. A 50% deposit is required to begin the build process.
The first step in the website build is to determine website structure and aesthetic. This step takes some collaboration between myself and the client.
Then comes content creation, curating all necessary written and visual assets (photos/video) for the website. This step is also most often collaborative.
I then get to work and build out the website. This includes integrating any plugins or creating any specialized functionality required by the client, as well as integrating social media and setting up newsletter & contact forms. Throughout the build process, the website is tested and optimized for all screen sizes (mobile, desktop, tablet, etc).
It’s now time for the client to take a look at the draft version of the website and to provide feedback for revisions.
Once the website is looking and functioning the way we want, I optimize each page and element for search result ranking (SEO). I also create or connect a Google Business profile, test and optimize the website with Google Search Console, and submit a crawl request to get your website indexed quickly.
At this point, your website is done and it’s time to connect for a Q&A followed by training on how to use your new site! You’ll be surprised how simple it is to manage your website, but rest assured I’m always here to help if future changes are required or if something comes up down the road!