We’ve been designing and building sites and applications for over twelve years. In that time, we’ve learned a lot about clients, projects, and how to implement a successful web design process.
And if you’re a regular reader of our blog, you’ll know that we’re big on sharing that knowledge. We’ve written about all sorts of topics. WordPress, Github, CSS, copywriting, version control, mobile design—the list goes on and on. You name it, we’ve probably touched on it in one way or another.
It’s in that spirit that we’ve put together a five part series about our web design process. Some of the topics covered in this series will be a simple refresher for day-to-day Project/Product Managers. But for those just getting started in the industry or struggling to manage projects effectively, you should find value here. Let’s take a look at what we’ll cover.
A project-centric approach to the web design process
We start at the beginning of the web design process, showing you how to get clients and maintain relationships. We’ll then move on to best practices for contracts and schedules. The final article will cover topics that tend to make a lot of people uncomfortable. Specifically we’ll take a look at how to tell if a project isn’t going well and what red flags to look for when thinking about moving on from a project.
Here’s a look at each of the the articles in the series, as well as a brief synopsis of what we cover in each:
How to get web design clients
In Part 1, we start the series by addressing the issue of getting clients. We’ll walk you through our method for finding new business, initial conversations, and what to keep an eye on when evaluating a new client relationship.
Are web design contracts necessary?
Part 2 is all about the business of web design. Dealing with contracts is probably the least exciting part of a project, but one of the most important to ensure a successful outcome.
Project schedules: How to set expectations and ensure success
Part 3 is all about developing and maintaining a realistic project schedule—the single most important function of successful web design projects.
Time tracking leads to smoother projects and proposals
In Part 4, we talk about why time tracking is crucial. When you know how long things take, you and your team are equipped to make smarter decisions for your company.
When a web design project goes wrong…
Unfortunately, sometimes even the best laid plans go awry. In the final article of the series, we help you decide if you should move on from a web design project.
We hope this sheds some light on our process
It’s our intention to put you on a successful path towards project amazingness. If you have any questions or would like any more information on any of the topics above, please don’t hesitate to leave us a comment. Good luck, here’s to a ton of happy, productive, and successful web design projects!
