COOLGREY
Client Web
Design Overview
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/ OVERVIEW
This document outlines how Coolgrey approaches
the web design process. Coolgrey have over 10 years
experience in producing websites for a wide variety
of clients. The websites we create are beautiful,
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/ OVERVIEW
CUSTOM WEB DESIGN VS
WEBSITE TEMPLATES
As a business owner you are always looking how to save money and make your business profitable. When it comes to creating an online presence for your business, just like your marketing materials and office’s appearance, your website needs to project a professional image. The more professional looking your business appears, the more creditable it looks.
Many business owners don’t really understand the difference between having a custom web design done and using website templates. In this article we’ll look at both ways of having your website built and the costs involved.
Custom Web Design
Many think having a custom web design is too expensive but let’s look at the advantages of hiring a web designer over using a free website template or purchasing one.
Benefits of custom web design
1. Unique design.
With a custom web design it is created just for your business. Your website will be different from anyone else’s.
2. By hiring the right web designer, it will be constructed so it is search engine friendly.
How the background coding of your website is done will influence your success in the search engines.
3. The website will be more adaptable to your company’s needs.
If you have done your website planning, you will have a list of features you wish to have. By prioritizing this list of website features, you will give the web designer an idea of what to accommodate for in the future if your current budget doesn’t allow all the features to be implemented from the start.
4. Scalability.
Just like adaptability, if you have planned what you want in the future for your website, a good web designer will take this into consideration as they select the technologies to use while building the website. Other points to take into consideration when deciding if custom web design is for you are:
Are you planning to maintain the website yourself?
If you do not intend to learn how to code a website (or have someone on staff that can do this well) then you are going to have to request that a content management system be incorporated into the web design. There are limitations on some content management systems so be sure to review our Choosing a Content Management System article so you ask all the right questions about the proposed content management system the web designer is planning on using.
Are you permitted to use the graphics created for the website for other purposes?
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/ OVERVIEW
The website design should incorporate your company’s branding. If you have already established your company branding, then that branding should be incorporated into the website.
For a business that hasn’t established a branding or is under going a revamping, then you are going to want to know if you can use the graphics on the website elsewhere, like your letterhead, brochures and signage to mention a few. This will increase the price of the custom web design, but then you will have everything match. Another idea if considering a custom web design is, just have a
template made incorporating the website theme. You can then, if you have the skills, recycle the template theme to create the web pages for your website.
Website Templates
There is a misconception on how beneficial and economical using free website templates or purchased website templates is. Let’s look at some points about website templates:
Website templates are good for:
1. Getting inspiration on colours, layouts and features.
You cannot have your web designer copy these, but they do give the web designer an idea of the look you would like.
2. Very low budgets where you need to get up and running as soon as possible.
If budget is holding you back from getting your business up on the
Internet, then maybe a website template might be the way to go.
3. Shorter development time.
It would appear that using a website template would include a shorter development time required for your website. Not really, read on.
Now onto other considerations when choosing a website template. Using website templates do have some downfalls:
1. There is going to be a ton of other people using the same template.
Unless you pay the “Exclusive” price for the template, the template website is going to keep selling that same template to anyone that comes along. Keep in mind, even if you pay the exclusive price, there are others who have bought the template prior to you and they still have the right to use it.
If it’s a really appealing template, there may be lots of other people who have already bought that very template.
2. You will be limited on the customization of the website template.
Without web page coding skills, you are still going to have to either spend the time and money to learn how to code a web page or hire someone to help you.
Some templates are laid out very specific. Meaning if you incorporate your own graphics or have extensive content, the template could break.
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3. Some website templates are not built to be search engine friendly.
As explained above, it is important how the background coding of your website is done. If not done correctly, it could hurt your marketing efforts on the internet.
4. Antiquated coding.
If the website template uses antiquated coding, it might not work in all browsers.
Browser specific features are another sign of antiqated coding.
Custom Web Design or Website Template?
When deciding if a custom web design is the way to go or if a website template is a better choice keep in mind that you want your business to stand out from the crowd and be memorable.
In either case, you are still going to have to do some work to get up there in the search engine results. Having a website that looks nice is only part of the internet marketing package. You will have to research the phrases that your target audience would type in the search box to find you then incorporate those phrases into the content of each of your pages.
To maintain or build the website yourself you are going to have to invest some time (and money possibly) into learning all there is to building a web page.
Now, sit down and figure out exactly how much each method of building the website is actually going to cost. Include the time it is going to take you learn whatever you need to learn to use a website
template and compare that to the cost of a custom web design where you will have time to market or build your product in the same
time frame.
There is an old saying: “Time is money”
Keep that in mind when choosing between custom web design and website templates.
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/ SOME SAMPLES SITES WE’VE COMPLETED
HEWITT COLLEGE
GORDON LANE
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/ PERSONNEL
ANTHONY COTTER
/ CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Anthony is the creative director of Coolgrey and will oversee the implementation of
each web design project that passes through the company. Anthony has over
10 years experience directing within Coolgrey.
JUSTIN CRONIN
/ PROJECT MANAGER
Justin has over 20 years experience working with the design industry in Ireland.
He is responsible for keeping you informed of project developments and
managing the timeline and delivery of the project.
JAMIE O’LEARY
/ FRONT END DEVELOPER
Jamie holds an MA in Design Practice from DIT and will be working on designing
interface of the website. Jamie has extensive experience in designing websites
that are easy to navigate and visually stunning.
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/ PERSONNEL
WALTER WYNNE & ADAM BEECHER
/ WEB DEVELOPERS
Walter and Adam are responsible for the maintenance and development of
Coolgrey’s sites. They both work using wordpress, a content management
system which is easy to use.
EDDIE HENNESSY
/ PHOTOGRAPHER
Eddie is the Coolgrey photographer and is utilised for many of our web
projects which require photographic services, for example company portraits
or location shots.
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/ PROJECT PHASES
A / Site Brief
D / Content Addition & SEO
G / Digital Marketing
E / Going Live
F / Training
A. SITE BRIEF
An initial meeting with the client takes place in which the project aims and
structure are discussed. Justin, the project manager will ascertain the project deadlines and signoff dates. The content which is required (photography, text etc.) will be established and points of contact for each appointed. Text will be submitted by the client in MS Word format. Domain name will be checked and purchased if required at this stage.
D. CONTENT ADDITION
& SEO
The content, (photography, text etc.) will be uploaded to the site. Search engine optimisation (SEO) will be added at this point.
E. DIGITAL MARKETING
The site is now live and marketing options for it can be discussed. The site may benefit from a digital marketing campaign (such as Google ads) to improve it’s visibility online.
B. FRONT END DESIGN
A sitemap is established and a number of concepts are developed for the proposed design style.
These styles will then be submitted to the client for approval. Once the initial style is approved, Coolgrey will incorporate this style across the entire site to ensure consistency.
E. GOING LIVE
Once the content has been uploaded and the site approved it will go live. We recommend that the site be hosted with our own web host provider.
C. WORDPRESS
DEVELOPMENT
The site design now needs to be incorporated into wordpress content management system. Our developers will code the site making it ready to go live.
F. TRAINING
Basic training on the use of wordpress will be provided at this point. This will allow the client to add and remove content as required. Please note the site must be maintained on a regular basis – updates to plugins, wordpress software must be completed in order to ensure site security.
PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AS IT
WILL HELP US ASCERTAIN THE CORRECT DIRECTION OF
THE PROJECT:
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/ WEB QUESTIONNAIRE
Your Name & Email Address:
What is the timeline for this project:
What problems do your customers/prospects have that your business solves?
Short description of services: Why do you want a new website (or have the site redesigned)
Please describe your potential customours. Pay special attention to their income, interests, gender, age. If your website is a business-to-business site, what sort of companies are you hoping to attract?
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/ WEB QUESTIONNAIRE
Why do you believe site visitors should do business with you rather than with a competitor?
Name two or three primary competitive sites and their web addresses. Please comment on the strengths and weaknesses of these sites.
Describe your new site’s desired look and feel by using adjectives and short phrases (e.g.: Easy to look at, edgy, classic, up-to-date, crisp, modern, traditional, understated,” etc.)
Have you researched your online competition so you have an idea of what you do and don’t want on your site?
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/ WEB QUESTIONNAIRE
Do you have a current house style / brand guideline that needs to be followed in terms of colour, typography and tone?
What do you NOT want on your site in terms of general look and feel (e.g. if you can’t stand a particular colour, it’s good to know in advance).
What is your budget for this project? Your budget determines how much time I can spend on your project. Please provide an upper and lower range if you don’t have an exact figure.
Name two or three sites NOT in your industry that you like, and their web addresses. Please comment on the aspects of these site you like. Do you have a logo? Are you satisfied with how it represents
your company?
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/ WEB QUESTIONNAIRE
Is the content (text etc.) already created for this site? If not, how soon do you anticipate having it ready?
If you were using a search engine, what words or phrases would you use to find your site?
Do you have active accounts on any social networks?
Other than what search engines will produce, what methods do you have in mind to spread the word about your website?
Where/how do people learn about your company/product/service at present?
How do you plan to encourage repeat visitors and referrals? (eg by writing blog articles, cross-promoting with social network accounts, newsletter signups, discounts for registered users etc)
