You’ve signed the contract for your big website refresh! Congratulations! We’re so excited to be on this journey with you. Starting on a website redesign is a big project and it can be overwhelming. That’s why we start all of our projects with a meeting we call a discovery meeting. We like to call this meeting the “fun” meeting because we get to discuss everything from fonts and colors to content and detailed functionality. Here’s what to expect at a discovery meeting with Web Strategies.
First things first, we always clarify with you if you are keeping your current logo and what file formats you have it in. We always want to request large vectorized files if possible for the best resolution on your new site. If you don’t have a logo, we can work with you to quote one out or await a new one being created. From there, we confirm a color palette or projected color palette based on that logo. These are never set in stone and we always pull the exact colors from your logo to stay on brand. This is the point in the process where some clients present a branding guidelines document, but don’t worry if you don’t have one, we are able to pull together all the necessary pieces while building.
The next biggest piece of the puzzle is figuring out your new navigation. Sometimes an older site is so cluttered and cobbled together that it is no longer intuitive for your users to navigate. We work with you to figure out what sections are still relevant, what needs to be rewritten, what can be scrapped entirely, and what content you might have that is completely new. From there we write down all of the necessary pages and adjust their order and grouping so that the navigation makes sense once again. It’s important we get this new group of pages established so everyone knows what pieces to expect once the buildout begins.
After the major portions of the website are discussed, we make sure to hit any functionality points within the site to ensure that we are designing the way you envision the processes running. This includes any complex forms or an interactive events calendar. Most commonly, if you are planning to sell products on your site, we discuss the details of your products as well as the checkout process. Shopping carts also require us to talk about your payment processor and shipping requirements. Whatever the functionality, we make sure we flesh out exactly your parameters so that nothing is a surprise later on in the build.
And of course, a discovery meeting wouldn’t be complete without knowing your goals for the site. We always want to hear your hopes and dreams for how you envision people feeling when they come to your site. It could be similar to your current site, or wildly different. If you have a specific site or sites that you like the feeling of, it can be a good idea to look at those with us so we can all see what elements you like the most and see how we can translate the same idea into your build. But remember, don’t come in expecting us to copy another site, as we always want to create something that is uniquely YOU.
At the end of the meeting, many notes will be taken and everyone will have a clear picture of our roles and responsibilities going forward. The project manager compiles the meeting notes into what we call a Discovery Document. Highlighting all the details as well as a timeline of expected deliverables on both ends. We also inform you of our process going forward and the rest of the steps from now until launch! So now that you’re ready, give us a call to see when we can get your meeting in the books! We are looking forward to hearing about your project!