iElectrify

When you think about getting a web design, and ask for a quote from several designers whose work looks promising, you may never think about what goes on “behind the scenes”.  

And while most business owners are perfectly happy having a finished website to start promoting, it’s important that you know the different stages of a design – so that you can give your designer input at each milestone or completion goal.

Here’s an inside look at the process every website goes through at iElectrify:

1.  The first step is the design and layout.  Your feedback during this time is crucial to making sure your website looks and “flows” the way you want it to.  Having links to sites whose designs and layout you like is very helpful – and these sites can even be in a different industry than yours.  For more inspiration, see www.coolhomepages.com. 

During this time we ask our clients to prepare photos of their products or optionally have us research stock photos available online.  There is no extra charge for this research – it’s all part of the design process.

Then, we prepare a draft of the website and, based on our client’s feedback, make revisions and additions.  Once the layout is ready, it’s time to move on to Step 2.

2.  The second step involves setting up a domain name and web hosting.  This is where your site will be found, and where files will be stored online.  Having a reliable web host is crucial to making sure your site is available to customers at all times. 

We recommend Site5 hosting services where, for less than $10 per month, you can get professional web hosting that allows your site to grow as your business grows.  It’s important to set up your domain name and web hosting account before your site goes online, as this step almost always needs to be done before Step 3.

3.  The third step involves the programming of your site.  Much of today’s web programming takes place through your server – or the place where your website files are stored.

 When customers type in your domain name, such as www.example.com, the web programming goes right to work, making sure that things like your shopping cart, your website content and payment processing all work together to give your customer a smooth, pleasurable and easy web browsing experience.
And, while there are hundreds of web shopping carts out there, we highly recommend Turnkey Web Tools’ SunShop Cart for its ease of use, flexible product management and user-friendly design options.

4.  Step 4 is the testing phase, where our programming team goes through the same process your customers would go through to place a “test” order through your system, try out your contact form and make sure that everything goes and works the way it’s supposed to. 

You may get a couple of email messages or test payment transactions during this time – but it’s all designed to make sure your site works flawlessly for your visitors.

5.  The last and final step is the education phase.  This is where we work with you to make sure you fully understand how to use your new system. 

This is often the shortest phase – not because we want you to hurry up, but because our clients find it so easy and comfortable to use the programs we’ve set up, that they really don’t need our help!

 But if you do, we’re always available to answer any questions you might have.

There is one more step – and that is, if you haven’t experienced how easy and personal it is to work with us, and you’re struggling with an outdated or confusing website, why not click here and get a free quote for a fresh new design and a website you can actually use!

Tags: build website, create website, shopping cart, web hosting, website design