Unlock what you already know
You have no idea how much you already know about how to do this right. We help you unlock that, discover, and build on it.
Everyone in our business has a methodology that looks the same on the surface. Ours differs in this: We’re not consultants who swoop in, hold a few meetings then return in a month with strategy-in-a-can. We believe you actually want to be better online communicators. That won’t happen if we feed everything to you. So we come and live with you for a while (yes, some things are just better face-to-face). We conduct interviews and look at research data together. We paper your conference room walls with post-it notes. We teach workshops with your team. We learn. You learn.
Yes, when it’s all finished you’ll have a new and better web site and communication materials. More importantly, you’ll be connecting with real people on a whole new level.
Here are a few things to know about our approach and process:
- We control and manage projects, so you can rest assured your site will be done right and on time.
- Defining the foundation of a project well means we’re sure to hit the mark once we start development.
- Setting milestones and managing carefully means no wandering projects.
- We constantly monitor up-to-the-minute reports about time worked on the project and budget status.
1. Planning Phase
During the planning phase we…
- Define project objectives & requirements.
- Research your audiences to learn their their goals/motivations.
- Determine content & features required for success.
- Specify interactive applications.
- Create a site map and wireframes for key pages.
Planning results in a site/system blueprint that defines what is and what isn’t part of the project.
Extra time up front = major savings later. The extra time we spend in this phase results in major cost savings to our customers. Just like building a house, taking out a wall costs a lot more when you’re almost finished than when you’re drawing plans.
We know changes will still happen. We reduce your costs by planning thoroughly.
2. Design Phase
The fun part! During the design phase we…
- Create the look and feel of your site, including home page and secondary page templates
- Diagram interactive applications
- Define styles for content elements and application components
- Test proposed interfaces with real users
We always collaborate with you on the design concepts. We present a series of mockups of a design and get your feedback, then refine to reach the final design.
3. Content Development Phase
Content development usually happens simultaneously with the Design Phase, and sometimes continues into Production. During this phase we:
- Audit the existing site content to determine what needs to be revised or rewritten.
- Develop an action plan for authoring and editing, including who on our team or yours will do the writing.
- Determine how content will be migrated from the existing site to the new site.
- Edit all site content for consistent voice.
4. Production Phase
During the production phase we…
- Build the HTML templates and pages.
- Implement the content management system.
- Place and format content.
- Program interactive applications.
- Prep the site for search engine submission.
Again, good planning takes the guesswork out of the Production Phase.
We follow the best practices in our industry for HTML production, style sheet usage, re-usable code development and time-saving Server Side Includes files. We use XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) extensively for visual style, which makes pages lighter, faster to load, easier to change, and more accessible. We comply with the W3C Document Object Model for HTML and JavaScript.
5. Testing Phase
During the Testing Phase we…
- Perform quality assurance testing on the Beta Site (fully functional pre-launch site).
- Complete any required user documentation.
6. Launch & Post-Deployment Phase
Following the launch of the site, we…
- Hold an informal debriefing session with you to discuss the project’s development and to identify future development needs
- Register the site with search engines.
- Provide on-going support & maintenance.
Read a story of this process in action: Imperial College London Case Study