Building a High-Performing Website: Key Steps to Success

What We've Learned

Over the years, we've had the opportunity to work with dozens of businesses to build out fresh, up-to-date, optimized websites. Along the way, we've taken notes on what the best website projects have in common. We've learned about what we (Launch Kit) and the client (local business) can do to ensure that the website project achieves its full potential.

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Discovery Call

Our website experience starts with a brief discovery call. This is a brief, 30-minute Google Meet call to go over your business details, current priorities, and goals for the next few years. We go over the Launch Kit web design process and pricing so that the prospective client has a crystal clear understanding of the road ahead. With this information in hand, Launch Kit and the prospective client can both decide if we are a win/win fit for one another.

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Project Kickoff Workshop

To get the ball rolling, we have a one-hour kickoff workshop either at the Launch Kit office or via Google Meet.

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What To Bring To This Meeting

• Laptop - We'll be setting up your ClickUp account for communication and file sharing.
• Branding Files - We'll need your logo in vector format (.SVG, .AI, .PDF, or .EPS). If you don't have these file types, we can design them for you. We provide logo vectorization starting at $749. Having a vector version of your logo ensures that your branding always appears crisp and clear.
• Photos and Videos - If there are photos and videos you for sure want featured on the site, it's best to upload them to a cloud storage of some kind (like Google Drive or Dropbox) so that you can easily share them with us. Having up-to-date, authentic photos and videos makes a HUGE difference in how your business's website will look/feel. If you don't have up-to-date images and videos, we could do a photoshoot to get your business outfitted with updated content - starting at $795.
• Prior to this meeting, take a moment to think about the questions below.

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Questions We'll Cover

• What are your business's core products and services offered? Is this going to change in the near future?
• What are three unique attributes about your business that set you apart from other businesses that provide these same products/services?
• If a potential customer comes across your website, visits it, learns about your business, and decides to become a customer, what does that sales/onboarding/setup process look like? Do they get directions to your store, make a reservation, schedule a meeting, make a phone call?
• Does your business present itself in a more casual or a more corporate manner?
• Is your business more bold/outgoing or is it more quiet/reserved?
• Do you position your product/service as a luxury/exclusive item, or is it an accessible/affordable option?

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Beta Development

From the Project Kickoff Meeting, we'll assign action items to each other so that we can begin designing web pages. We like to allocate three to four weeks to build an initial website draft. During that time, we need written business information, photos, videos, and branding files from you so that we can accurately design web pages that are authentic to your business.

Over those few weeks, we'll remain in contact via ClickUp, sharing files and updates. Once we have a website beta ready for preview, we'll add the URL link to our ClickUp task.

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Website Revisions

After reviewing the initial website beta, the next step is to make revisions. During this phase, we're filling in blank spots with necessary written information, photos, and videos. We're totally open to feedback; we appreciate it when you ask questions so that we can collaborate openly.

Important Note: At this phase of the project, it's essential we don't let over-perfection be the enemy of our progress. We can easily add content and new pages to the website anytime. It's best that we move forward efficiently to avoid getting stuck in the revision phase for too long. If we take three to four weeks to build the beta, we like to move projects through the revision phase in equal or less time than that.

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Website Updates Going Forward

While launching the website can feel like a finish line, we like to treat it like health and wellness; it's an infinite game, not a finite end. With the website live, our focus should shift to making sure we keep the website updated with the latest business information, customer reviews, team members, photos, videos, blog articles, portfolio pieces, and contact information.

Important Note: The websites that perform the best are the ones where we add at least one blog article/portfolio post per month, update images yearly, and feature marketing/sales promotions. For minor updates, send us a message via ClickUp, and we'll get right on it. For larger updates, use the calendar link to schedule a call as soon as that day to discuss the updates to be made.

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Conclusion

There you have it, our thoughts on how to create a high-performing website that stands out from the pack. For those of you who like bulleted lists, here you go:

1. Bring your laptop to the kickoff.
2. Have updated photos/videos or let us take some.
3. Have your branding files in vector format.
4. Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress; just provide us with authentic written information about your business.
5. Launch your website sooner rather than letting it get stuck in the revision phase.
6. Make regular updates to the blog, portfolio, photos, videos, team members, and business information.

We hope you found this article insightful and helpful. We have a blast working on website projects with local businesses. If this sounds like you, we're just a message away!