“We promise to never build a site unless you are 100% happy with the design”
That’s our guarantee. And if you want to get a bit flexible on what we’re saying, it covers design for print “we wont be sending your files to the printer unless you are 100% happy with the design” and it covers site launches too “we won’t be putting your site live until you’ve said youre happy for it to be live” – you get the jist!
But we’ve got to do things in order. It’s the smart sensible way. No shortcuts.
Plan, then design, then build.
I had one potential client recently who was saying “I don’t need you to redesign it, I just want it to look fresher and more up to date. I am happy with the layout but I want it to be more user friendly.”. In her case, the design was over 10 years old so it definitely needed a refresh – and the code was equally old and out of date.
There is no getting around it, we need to design first, so we show clients how the site will look and then we work in the code to make the website look like the planned design.
Usually, when we work on a website from scratch – it’s straightforward. Fresh look at what’s needed, fresh design, fresh code, fresh content. That’s ideal.
With some clients we have them come and they want only a homepage refresh, or some minor design improvements. Even then, we still take a brief, show designs, get feedback, make changes, get approval and then code the changes into the site.
Whether it’s a brand-new site or tweaks on an existing site, the process is the same.
While I have mentioned this in my proposals and previous blogs, a good friend of mine wisely said – “you gotta tell them 7 times before they hear if the first time”

So, here’s how we ensure it works out:

• Questions questions: We start with a great brief – and we get this by asking a series of questions and having a few conversations about your audience, their needs, your goals, your preferences, and your experiences so far with your marketing and sales activity.
• Conversion design: While working on design, we incorporate design and usability best practices, to engage visitors. We advise on the names of the navigation links, we help write headlines/copy that appeals, and show you understand your audience, and in our designs, we include clear calls to action at every stage.
• Choice and flexibility: We show options for the design and then have a “live design session” so you are involved in the process and you love your site’s design.
• A hard and fast rule: We never build the site unless you have signed off the design – this means we sometimes have to wait for the decision to be start building the site, and our coders may be ready before you are, but it’s very important that YOU are sure.

Our guarantee = safety

It’s a very reassuring guarantee. It takes away the fear “what if I don’t like the design???” – we dont get too far with a design without checking along the way how our clients feel. Within our quotes we include 3 sets of revisions, but secretly we give a an average of 3-5 more tweaks without mentioning this, unless clients are getting out of hand. Because, we’re picky and we want our clients to feel it’s fine (and safe) for them to be picky too!