My approach to webdesign comprises a four-step process that facilitates the planning, design, construction and implementation of your website. The key to a quality site that you will be happy with for years to come is really pretty simple - your active involvement in the project. This is especially important in the planning and design stages. It won't require a whole lot of your time, and believe it or not, it can actually be a lot of fun! Always be mindful that this is going to be your website, and yours alone. It is my mission to do all I can to deliver a site to you that leaves a lasting impression on those that visit it. Experience has taught me that the more interest and involvement my clients have in the process, the happier they will be in the end with the final product.

The following outlines my four-step approach:

Step 1: Planning

To say this is the most important phase of website creation is an understatement. I like to begin with an initial consultation, either by phone or in person if at all possible. I will ask you before hand to take a little time to browse the internet for personal or business sites that appeal to you. If your goal is a site to represent your business, I always suggest that you use our pal Google to search for sites that are in a similar service or industry. I've found that this up-front legwork on the part of the client gives us a nice starting place from which to proceed with the initial design. I will also be asking you to come up with a name (domain) for your site that has not already been taken. I can assist you in that process. Our initial consultation will usually be relatively brief, and I will be more than happy to accomodate your busy schedule.

Step 2: Design

In this phase, you and I will work together to produce a mock-up of your proposed site. I will ask you for any digital images you might have that you'd like to use on your site. I may ask to take additional photos of your business if this is to be a commercial site, or of you and/or your objects of interest if this is to be a personal website. We will also work together on designing a banner or logo that will be the centerpiece of your website's header, and discuss color themes. In this phase we will also mock up any additional graphics work you might desire. Finally, we will talk about how many pages of content you'd like for your site, how the visitor will navigate the site and whether or not you will want to incorporate content management into the package.

Step 3: Construction

This phase is mostly on my shoulders, but does require a little time and involvement on your part. One of the very first things we need to accomplish is pretty straightforward - we need to get you a place to host your website! I've run into clients that are fairly new to the internet, and they often think that a website just sort of magically goes up into cyberspace. That is not quite the case! We will need to contract with what is called a Hosting Service, which is basically a business that manages computer servers where your website code, pictures and graphics will physically reside. This involves a small cash outlay on your part, but don't panic - most hosting services have become very competitively priced. As a web designer, I personally recommend Hostmonster for this service. There are many others out there (such as Godaddy) that are just fine for hosting, but I've had great experiences with Hostmonster. I don't recieve any compensation for promoting them. I've just found that their technical interfaces and customer support are a cut above others that I've used.

Once we have the physical environment in place, and the themes and content have been finalized, I go to work coding and testing a prototype. I will periodically call or e-mail asking you to review significant milestones. Your involvement here is very important to me, as experience has shown me that I do not want to move forward with significant site construction if you are not 100% satisfied with each benchmark or milestone. It is much easier to revise bits and pieces of the prototype versus going back and starting from square one! Remember - my goal is your total satisfaction with all of my work.

Step 4: Implementation

Nearing the end of the construction phase, I will ask you to go over the website with a fine tooth comb, checking for everything from needed spelling and grammar corrections to glitches in functionality or navigation. When we are both satisfied that your website is ready for its debut, I will move the code up to the hosting server and voila - you are up and running! During this phase, I will also work a little magic that will help your site to move into and up in the rankings for search engines like Google and Yahoo. If this is a commercial site, I can also register you with Google Business and Google Maps. And last but not least, I will ask you to tell everyone you know to visit your site. This will accelerate your site's improvement in search engine rankings. Also keep in mind that I will be in full post-implementation support mode for any problems or changes we need to address. This suppoort is part of our initial contract and will last for a period of seven (7) days. After that period, the maintenance portion of our contract goes into effect.

About content management functions

At an additional cost (please see the Pricing page) I can make it so that certain portions of your website can be modified by you yourself on an ongoing basis and without my intervention. Elements of a website that lend themselves to content management include areas of text, some (but not all) photos or images, event calenders and alert or notification messages. If you find that this feature is something that you might be interested in, we can discuss in detail how we might integrate it into your website.