The Web Design Phase

The Web Design Phase is a critical phase in creating a future winning website. During this phase, the “look” of the website is established. Without a great-looking website, you will struggle to keep new visitors on your site for long. This phase is critical for both the web owner and the web design team. Of all the phases in developing a new website, The Web Design Phase demands great collaboration.

This Must Be a Great Collaboration – Can You Elaborate?

When a client hires us as their design company (BeareWare), we have usually already asked a lot of questions and done a lot of research during the proposal and quoting phase. We establish a good feel for what the client wants, we review the client’s business model, brand, and marketing concepts, and we clarify exactly what we must deliver. We ask the client to identify websites they like, which helps us gather sample looks. There’s already strong communication, but the design meeting is when we finalize the website look.

So, What Is Involved with a Design Meeting?

We aim to leave a design meeting with a clear design plan, which leads to final design samples for the client. Even though we design many websites and could make choices based solely on our knowledge, we recognize this is the client’s website, not ours. The design meeting specifically reviews the client’s business model, marketing and branding models, images, logos, sample marketing materials, key demographics, and desired results from their website. These meetings are usually dynamic and exciting.

Our design meeting checklist highlights what we cover:

Design Meeting Checklist:

• Business Model Review: Review the client’s business plan.
• Corporate Logo: Review logo, brand, and corporate colors.
• Marketing Material: Review flyers, brochures, newsletters.
• Domain Name Analysis: Make sure domains match the brand and slogans.
• Sample Websites: Review existing sites the client and design team like.
• Design Inventory: Gather images, logos, ads, and website samples.
• Design Choices: Menu design, navigation, aesthetics (colors and style).
• Web Content: Review menu items, establish content sources.
• 3rd Party Software: Review any 3rd party tools for integration.
• Next Steps: Timeline for design samples and project milestones.

So It’s Really a Team Effort?

Absolutely! Over the years, we’ve held many design meetings — some by phone, most on-site. Some clients rely heavily on our recommendations, while others come with a clear vision. But every client collaborates with us to produce the best website design possible.

We help clients identify the main results they want from their website by reviewing their business model. Even if clients don’t have a formal plan, they always have a business model we can explore together during The Web Design Phase.

After You Establish the Look the Client Likes – Is That It?

Not quite. In the design meeting, we also shift focus from “visual design” to “written content.” We evaluate marketing materials and discuss content availability. This step ensures we know what content will populate the site, and which modules and menu options are necessary.

While designing the look is fun and exciting, great content brings real results. A strong design makes prospects bookmark your site — but quality content keeps them engaged and drives them to action.

How Much Bearing Does Content Have on the Design?

Content plays a major role in web design. We look closely at the client’s industry and their ability to maintain fresh content.

If a client wants a News section on their home page, we discuss the need for a constant stream of updates. We stress the importance of being realistic about their content creation capabilities.

When clients want updated content but lack time to produce it, we sometimes recommend RSS Feeds. RSS Feeds (Really Simple Syndication) allow websites to pull news headlines from another source. This keeps the client’s website fresh and useful to visitors without the need for daily updates.

And Now for the Design Samples

During the design meeting, our design director, Vicki Payne, and I (as project manager) meet with the client. We take a team approach because there are many moving parts to successfully launching a website.

Our design director’s role is to leave the meeting with a plan that guides the design samples. Typically, we create 3–5 design samples based on the meeting.

This process separates great web design companies from the rest. During The Web Design Phase, having a talented designer matters more than anything else. You can have great developers, solid hosting, and a powerful CMS, but if visitors don’t like what they see, they won’t stay.

Designs Are Created, Samples Reviewed, Website Design Selected!

Once we complete the samples, we post them online for the client to review. Sometimes the client picks a design immediately; other times, they request tweaks, mixing elements from different samples into the final version.

We encourage clients to share ideas, input, and feedback. The design process continues until we finalize the selected design.

Once the client approves their design, we complete The Web Design Phase and move into the development phase (next week’s blog topic). At this point, the client knows what their site will look like, and excitement always runs high.

Both our team and the client work hard during this phase, and the results show it. The collaboration between the design company and the client truly sets the foundation for a future successful website!

Cheers Mate,

Peter Beare – Webmaster

Peter Beare is CEO of BeareWare, a Website Design & Development Company located just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Since building his first website for a local sports club in 1998 Peter has been a webmaster. Over the last 10 years Peter’s duties with BeareWare have included website planning, design and development, website marketing and sales, as well as database application programming & project management. But when all is said and done, Peter is still a webmaster and this is “Interview with a Webmaster“.