Creating a new website - how does it work?
When we build a new client website, we generally follow 5 steps:
Step 1: It's all about you...
Before we make a start on any website we like to find out as much as we can about your business. We need to know what you do, who your clients are, what you want your website to achieve and, very importantly, get a feel for your budget. Once we know all that we can advise you on what would be the best option.
Option 1. You can pick one of our off-the-shelf packages. You can find out more about those here...
Option 2. You can choose to go for a fully bespoke site which will be tailored entirely to your needs. You can find out more about how that works here...
In both cases we will always give you a quotation up front, with a fixed price for your website. Obviously this is based on our initial discussions, but if the price is likely to change we will always discuss this with you before we go ahead – no-one likes nasty surprises!
Step 2: Designing and building the website
Once you are happy with our proposal we make a start on designing the site. We will provide this to you as a pdf and you can request as many changes as you like (within reason!) until you get a result you are happy with.
Once the design is agreed, our technical team will then turn it into a working website. When it is done we will send you a link so you can take a look at it online.
Step 3: Adding your content
Now the site is built it's time to add in the content. You can provide this to us in Word format, or we can help you to create it. We have a team of copywriters, all with different specialisms, who can help you create content that will get your customers picking up the phone to place an order.
If you want to keep costs down, we can create some of the pages for you and then train you so that you can add the rest yourself. It's up to you!
Step 4: Going live
Once the content is in and you are happy that the site works as you want it to, we make the site live and submit it to Google*.
*Don't panic if you don't get people calling straight away, it takes time for a site to be indexed and find a natural level in the search engines; so be patient!
Step 5: Aftercare
We do our best to make sure that your site is as search engine friendly as possible, however you do need to keep it up to date to keep Google (and your customers) coming back. If you are in a competitive business, you may find you need some search engine optimisation to get you ahead of the crowd. Our SEO expert can help you with this starting from just £125.00 per month, which is a small outlay considering the effect it can have on your business.
You might also find our "Questions to ask your website developer" article useful
“We have used Hot Sand Design for a number of years now. Their experience and attention to detail is
first class and that is clearly evident in our latest web site which is brilliant and achieving great results.
Thank you Sam Owens!!”
Andy Manning - Eau Coolers - Bordon, Hampshire
If you are thinking of commissioning a new website, why not call us on 01420 540 223
to arrange a free, no obligation review of your requirements