Getting Started
Here’s an overview of what I need and an overview to guide you before we get started
1. What I need to get started
YOUR LOGO
PDF, EPS, or high res JPEG or PNG if possible. If I’m rebranding your logo, I will have your new logo properly formatted.
HOSTING CREDITIALS
Your hosting account login and/or Cpanel username and password.
WORDPRESS LOGIN
An administrator login to your current WordPress site. (If you have one set up already).
IMAGES & PICTURES
Current and/or new images and pictures you’d like to use on your new site.
CONTENT
Page content and any updated verbiage/information for the site.
STYLE GUIDE
Brand style guide, colors, or any specific design requirements.
These items can be uploaded to your Basecamp project account or uploaded to your secure Dropbox folder.
2. Basecamp
Basecamp is an awesome online platform for communication and project management. We will be using this to send messages, share files, and track progress during the process. This will help alleviate content and images being lost in long email threads. Everyone loves email threads…right?! (Don’t worry, you can still use your email. The messages will post directly to Basecamp). Once your project is underway, you will receive an email to set up your Basecamp profile and we will be off and running.
3. Dropbox
Dropbox is a great online image/file sharing platform. This isn’t necessary for every project, but if you have more than 15-20 images for your website or if they are too big to send through email or post on Basecamp, we can use Dropbox. We can use this to share important logins and credentials instead of sending through email. I will set up a folder for the project and will share the folder with you via email. You can upload all images and files there.
4. The Design Process
Designing a website, no matter how big or small, is an extensive process that can be overwhelming. To better help you understand what to expect during the design and development, I’ve outlined my process into 3 steps:
1. LAYOUT AND DESIGN
A large and time consuming part of designing a website is in the planning and layout stage of the process. I will create the sitemap(Page/Menu hierarchy) of the website for approval first, then I will design the home page and sub page (or more upon request) for approval.
2. DEVELOPMENT
Once the site layout and design is approved, I will move forward with the designing of the entire site, pages, and add all functionality and plugins. We will make sure your site looks great and functions nicely across all devices and web browsers before moving to the final step.
3. EDITS & REVISIONS
Once the site is ready for final review, you will be able to review each page and we can make detailed edits until the site is revised completely. We ask that you please review ALL pages to make sure all spelling, grammar, addresses, and information are correct before going live.
5. Wrapping up & going live
Once the site is ready to go live, all unnecessary plugins, pages, images, and backend files will be removed. The new site will be backed up and saved locally, should it ever need to be restored. Once live, it make take between 24-48 hours for the new site to pull up on some devices. Some computers will need to be refreshed in order to see the new site, though most computers will see the new site immediately depending on the wifi connection and where they are in relation to the location of server the website is on.
Your website logins and credentials will be sent to you via Basecamp or secure email ensuring the security of your passwords. Though your logins and passwords will be saved by me locally, PLEASE SAVE ALL LOGINS FOR YOUR RECORDS AS WELL. Upon completion, you will receive a link to my “Moving Forward” page where you will receive tips and tricks on what to do with your new website and also information on the Care + Support Plan, which I highly recommend for all of my clients.
And if you didn’t get a chance, please fill out the website strategy questionnaire that was sent to you.
