My design process consists of 7 key stages: 

Defining Scope of Work & Identifying Key Goals

The discovery phase is my opportunity to meet with you to discuss your brand to gain a better understanding of your business, objectives and define key elements of brand. An example of some of the topics we'll discuss during this session are: 

• Who is your target audience?
• What problem does your business solve for them?
• How do they feel after you solve their problem?
• Is there a meaningful value you add to their lives?
• What makes your product or service unique from your competitors?
• What is wrong with your current website? (if they have one)
• Are there any design elements that you’re certain you want?
• What similar or competition-owned websites exist (if any)?

Once the scope is well-defined, I'll start digging into the sitemap, defining how the content and functionality will help the website accomplish all of its goals. 

Next I'll work on the content outline which defines every piece of content that will appear on the website. If it isn't on the content outline, it isn't going to appear on the website. 

The content outline is part of the information architecture, and as such should be organized in a hierarchy that represents the structure of the website rather than a hierarchy based on arbitrary categorization of content.

Wireframes are schematic versions of the pages on a website and simulate the final navigation, although the page layout at this point in the process is rough. Wireframes are made into clickable web pages, allowing you to preview the navigation of the site in action. Each wireframe includes all pieces of content that the final web page will display.

With wireframes complete, it’s time to collect content and copy from you and your team. Please note, I am a designer, not a copy writer. I do not write content for products or pages. All wireframes, mockups and prototypes will have placeholders for copy using Lorem Epsom. 

With a clear idea of site architecture and some initial versions of content in place, I'll start building out the brand’s digital identity and start designing the site itself. I'll create mockups of a few key pages like the home page, a product listing page, a product details page and a contact us page to present during initial review. 

Important: My process allows for a total of 3 rounds of iterations to review with you and your team. Any revision requests made beyond the first three are outside of my scope of work and will be billed separately. 

At this point, you've approved all designs and the site is ready for development. I'll spend some time cleaning up and organizing my design files, provide detailed specs and directions to hand off to your website developer. 

Note: I am not an engineer and will not provide any coding for my designs. My designs are intended to be handed off to a developer to produce your website for you using my designs as blueprints. I am available for design consulting at an additional hourly charge to ensure the engineer builds the website correctly. 

Once the site is completely built, I'll run an initial test throughout the site to ensure everything functions as it should, there aren't any broken links and the designs you approved are a perfect match to what the developer built.