Having a website designed and developed for your business will be one of the best decisions you ever make. Today all businesses need a website of some form or other in order to stand a chance at being competitive. Even if you run a local business, you will need a website, as many consumers like to check out your products and services before visiting you in-store. If you have been considering having a website built, here is an overview of the process so you can get a better idea of what to expect when you contact a web design agency.

An Overview Of The Process Of Designing And Developing A Business Website

Establishing Goals

Before your web designer can begin creating your website, they need to get a better feel of your business, values and goals. This will help them determine the sort of website you require and what you hope your website will achieve. It is important that your web designer makes the effort to get to know you and your business as this will help them to come up with a more personalised and unique design.

Discussing Options and Budget

Once your goals have been established, your web designer will need to discuss the various different website options with you. Some businesses simply want a brochure type website, whereas others want a fully functional ecommerce website. Nowadays you can also have responsive websites, mobile apps and mobile-friendly sites built. The possibilities almost seem endless!

The type of website you choose should depend on your business goals, as well as your budget. If you are just starting out, you will be pleased to know that web designs do not have to cost a fortune. Many web design agencies specialise in designing sites for small businesses at budget-friendly prices. Ideally choose an agency local to you; just go to Google type in your local term “e.g. Web design Edinburgh and shortlist from the abundant number of agencies you find.

Wireframing

After you and your web design have agreed on the most appropriate type of web design, they can begin producing wireframes. Wireframes are used to show the structure and layout of a website, as well as the journey a user will go on when using it. Creating wireframes can help web designers to improve user experience.

Web Design

This is probably one of the most exciting stages of the process as it is where your web design starts to come to life. At this stage, the web designers will be concentrating on making your website look attractive and appealing to your customers. The design they create should fit in with your business branding and make your website stand out from the rest.

An Overview Of The Process Of Designing And Developing A Business Website

Web Development

This is where everything gets a little too technical for non-techy individuals! Basically web developers create plans and codes that transform your website from being a 2d design into something that is functional and usable. They should also use their SEO knowledge to ensure your website is search engine friendly and stands a great chance at ranking well.

Testing and Deployment

Once the web designers and developers have finished creating your website, it will go through a process of testing. This is to make sure that each page loads and that the internal links work, before your website goes live. It is important to check that your website meets the goals you set at the beginning. After it has been given the all clear by the testers and yourself, it will be ready to go live. Now the hard work begins, as you will need to market and optimise your website so that potential customers can find it!

Conclusion

If you choose an experienced and reputable web design agency to work with, then the web design process will be a walk in the park. A good web designer will guide you through the process and ensure that you are kept informed about the progress of your design. Whilst you may not have the skills to design and develop a website yourself, your input is still of value and any good web designer will understand this.