Your website is the single most important asset in your marketing toolbox.
It serves as the face of your company. Thus, finding the right web design company is a must. When representatives of your target market look at your website they should quickly:
- Identify your brand
- Know the exact product/service you provide
- Identify the specific webpage they’re seeking
- See a call to action
Top-performing websites share the same traits which include:
- The ability to load quickly
- The ability to work on a variety of mobile devices
- Clear menus that provide easy navigation
- An aesthetically pleasing design
- Outstanding error handling
- Beautifully formatted and informative content
- Browser consistency
Considering how important your website is to your business, you can’t afford to cut corners when it comes to hiring a web design company. To ensure you get a good deal, there are several things to look for when weighing the pros and cons of each web design company you consult.
Does the Web Design Company use a Mood Board?
Mood boards are an important aspect of designing a website that a surprising number of web design companies haven’t yet incorporated into their design process. An effective web design mood board bears an uncanny resemblance to the Wall of Suspects that are often featured on police procedural shows. The difference is that instead of a bunch of photos of bad guys, the web design mood board is a collection of images and visual assets the design team feels represents your business and could potentially be incorporated into your website. The mood board serves as an early representation of the overall mood and direction the finished website takes.
A good web design team will encourage your feedback during the mood board portion of the design process. They will want to make sure that you and they agree that the images used on the board accurately reflect your brand. The more input you provide about the mood board, the happier you’ll be with the final website.
Does the Moodboard Evolve Into a Sitemap?
Once the moodboard is starting to come together, the design process should start to evolve into the creation of a sitemap. At this point, an experienced web design team takes the various aspects of the mood board uses them to start structuring your website. This part of the process goes much smoother if you already have a solid idea of the different types of pages/elements you want to be incorporated into your website.
It’s important to make sure that you’re working with a design team that knows how to create a sitemap that allows each element of your website to flow seamlessly into the next. A well-executed sitemap results in a final website that subtly directs it’s visitors to each page until they make a purchase.
Taking the Mood Board and Sitemap and Using the Information to Create a Wireframe
One of the biggest mistakes newer, inexperienced web design companies are making is trying to skip the wireframe process. These novice designers feel that creating a wireframe simply slows the design process and since they’re eager to work with as many customers as they can, they skip this vital step.
We don’t. We understand the value of a solid wireframe.
The purpose of a wireframe in website design is to define your website’s design hierarchy. The wireframe is vital for ensuring that the final web design provides a high-quality user experience.
This aids in defining the information hierarchy of your site’s design to ensure the layout is planned around the desired user experience. Benefits of a good wireframe include:
- Testing page functionality
- Confirming that the page structure works
- Identifying what content works and where it should go
The wireframe serves as a kind of outline or blueprint for the final website.
Tying It All Together With a Design Mock-Up
The next stage of a highly-effective web design process is creating mock-up PDF displays. This is another step novice web design teams try to skip because they don’t understand that the static creations provide both the design team and yourself to determine if the visual aspects of the design truly work. The elements you want to look at when presented with the mock-up of your website include:
- Is the logo presented nicely or is it overwhelming
- Does the color scheme work
- Is the content laid out in a way that it draws your eye to the important details
- Are navigational links easily spotted
- Is the font easy to use
- Does design accurately represent your brand
If the answer to any of these questions is no, the design team tweaks the project until everyone is happy.
Moving Onto the Live Preview
For many business owners, the next stage, developing the live preview of your website is when things start to get exciting. This is the stage when it finally starts to feel like you’re about to establish your online presence.
The live preview stages is when you and the design team create an active version of the website. It’s still not accessible to your customers, but you and the team are able to see how it interacts with web browsers, confirm that the various aspects are fully functional, testing the SEO optimization and meta tags, and that it includes all the necessary features and content you require. This is your last opportunity to tweak things. This is the best time to let your inner perfectionist run loose. If you’re not 100% happy with the live preview, let the design team know sot that they can tweak the design until you’re as excited about the website as they are.
2 Optional Revisions and the Launch!
Now, the only thing that is left is making some final tweaks to the responsive elements and maybe a few placement changes. Once that’s done and everyone is happy with the results your website is ready to launch. This is a big day. Throw a huge website launch party and invite all of your customers to take part.
Need a Website? Contact C&I Agency About Our Website Design and Development Services!
C & I is an agency that has a long and respectful history of creating high-performing websites. This list of clients who have been delighted with our web development and creative marketing services includes:
- Monster Energy
- CocaCola
- Montice Swim
- American Apparel
- Nike
- And more
Learn More About Finding the Right Web Design Company
There is nothing we enjoy more than taking our experience and combining it with your ideas until we’ve created a beautiful and fully functional website that perfectly showcases your business while also attracting members of your target market. The sooner you contact us about our web design services, the sooner we can help you build your internet presence.