Ready to build a website or add some landing pages to your existing site? It’s a good idea to work with an experienced graphic design agency who is fluent in how to design a website. They’ll guide you through the process of responsive web design to create and launch a successful site. Following is an overview of how to work with a graphic design agency to create or update your website.

What is website design?
Website design and development is a central part of building a strong brand. Web design is the process of creating how your website content will be organized and information about your company will be accessed. It involves creating a site structure (reflected in a site map) and page layouts, using your brand colors, fonts, and images. Graphic designers and copywriters work together to so that the website interface enables a good user experience across various devices. Your website needs to be responsive so it’s accessible, navigation should be intuitive, and transactions have to be seamless.

What’s the difference between web design and web development?
Web development is the coding to build the web design as an interactive experience on a web browser, enabling links within the page. Web developers build the functionality into the static mockup that a web designer provides.

What is web hosting?
Website files must be stored on a web server to be viewable online. So, web hosting is the process of renting or buying space on a server to house your website. Web hosting service providers offer a variety of hosting plans, and we can advise clients on choosing the right hosting plan so websites load quickly and reliably.

What is a landing page?
A landing page is a web page that you point people to from your ads. When users click on a banner or search ad, for example, the ad will link to a landing page. Because it’s where users go, it’s also referred to as a destination page. Landing pages should be strategically designed to convert leads into customers.

How should I identify the right graphic design agency for my web design project?
When choosing an agency, clients consider a mix of capabilities and chemistry. You want to make sure the graphic design agency has the expertise and experience you’re looking for, but you also want to make sure that you have a similar approach to planning, problem solving, and project management. For a website design project to be successful, these skills are just as important as creative services.

Ten questions to ask in choosing an agency include:

1. 1. Who will be my primary point of contact, and what is your approach to website design project management?
   2. Do you provide copywriting, design, and development?
   3. Which team members will be working on my web design project and what is their experience?
   4. Do you have experience building a website on my preferred Content Management System (CMS)?
   5. What is your process for quality assurance and testing?
   6. Can you recommend a website hosting provider?
   7. Do you have the capacity to take on the work during the timeframe required to meet our desired launch date?
   8. Could you share an example of a similar website design project and the creative options that were presented to the client?
   9. Can you provide references?
   10. What information do you need from me in order to estimate the project?

What does my graphic design agency need to start web page design or website design?

Before the design process begins, you can help ensure success by arming your graphic design agency or web designer with the following information.

1. Identify all stakeholders and involve them from beginning to end. Think through who in your organization should be involved in the project and define what each person’s role will be. Identify people who will provide input, such as technical subject matter experts, as well as those who will be decision makers on content and design. You’ll also want to loop those on the IT side who may be involved in hosting decisions. By including everyone from the get-go through to launch, you’ll have greater buy-in on – and a smoother transition to — the new website design.
2. Explain how your current website falls short. In broad terms, what do you need your website to do that’s it’s not doing now, from a content, design, and functionality perspective?

• • Does the site design appropriately reflect your brand? Or does it feel outdated?
  • Is the information on your website up to date? Or have you introduced new products or services that need to be incorporated into your web design?
  • Are website visitors able to find what they are looking for in as few clicks as possible? Are the pages organized in a clear, accessible way?
  • Is there consistency throughout your site in terms of styling? Or do you need to establish a new set of page templates that reflect your new web design?
  • Have you implemented best practices for search engine optimization (SEO)? Do you have an area on the site for fresh content, such as a blog or news area, to help drive organic traffic?
  • Do you have clear calls to action (CTAs) at the top and bottom of each page? Are there opportunities for your website visitors to “convert” into a lead by opting in to gated content, or signing up for a demo, or making a purchase?

3. Share websites you like and describe which aspects appeal to you. It can be difficult to convey the visual concept you envision. So even if they’re not in your industry, share examples of website designs that you’re drawn to. You may like more movement or less. You may be drawn to a certain style of website navigation. Understanding what aspects of a website user experience you’d like to emulate can be helpful for your creative team of graphic designers and web designers.
4. Adopt an audience-first mindset. Describe who uses your website, what they use it for, and how they use it. An audience profile by segment will help determine how you structure your content. Think about your customers’ top “care abouts” and bring those front and center in the site design. Determine how you can get your prospects to the information they are looking for in as few clicks as possible. For example, if you offer training related to a certain product, be sure to include cross-links within the site, so that users aren’t reliant on the top and bottom navigation alone.
5. Identify functional and/or technical requirements that should be incorporated. List any technical requirements your website must have such as: CMS, forms, integration with your CRM, payment processing, career integrations, analytics, or user logins. This way, the team can think through the best way to enable those technologies and create a seamless user experience. Once the website launches, will you want ongoing maintenance and support? Or will that be handled in-house?
6. Don’t shy away from the nuts and bolts: budget & timeline. When discussing the timeline, consider whether there is a specific date when the website design and website development must be completed by. Are there any specific milestones to consider, such as events, new service launches, new facility openings, etc. Your website design agency should come with stellar project management skills. They should provide a detailed schedule and keep everyone on track with weekly checkpoint meetings to report on progress, gather feedback, and discuss any issues as they arise.Sharing your budget will enable your graphic design agency and web developer to determine the best approach to tackle your objectives. If need be, you could provide a range. And, if you’re looking for hosting, ongoing maintenance and support, or SEO, include the budget for those services as separate.

How does the web design and web development process work?

Armed with the information you provide to your graphic design agency, your web designer can kick off the project. Steps may include:

• • A deeper dive: Your web design agency can survey your internal team members and/or customers. The result of the survey should be captured in an easy-to-read document, and any conflicting points of view can be discussed. There should be agreement amongst the stakeholder team in regard to the organization’s personality, any perceptions you’re trying to shift, your core strengths, and your approach to customer service.
  • A site map: The site map should clearly delineate the content hierarchy and how website navigation will be arranged. Your website design team should follow industry norms for bucketing content, for ease of use. Once you agree on a site map, it’s go-time: The content and graphic design phase can begin.
  • Creative concepts: Your website design agency should present options for you to choose from that map back to your criteria. And from there, it’s all about fine tuning the pages.
  • Website development: We often find that developers appreciate specifications for spacing in terms of pixels, font types and sizes, and colors, as well as destination URLs for all links on the web page. This level of detail helps to ensure the development reflects the original vision.
  • Testing: When website pages are built in a staging environment, they should be tested to ensure they are functioning properly. A review spreadsheet can be helpful to ensure that text, visuals, links and functionality are all working well on desktop, tablet and mobile views.
  • Launch: Once the site on staging is fully tested and ready to go live, the team will need to coordinate DNS changes for the website domain, set up a subdomain for staging and request a security certificate file to set up your SSL.
  • Tracking: To ensure that you have the website reporting you need, you’ll want to set up a analytics to measure traffic to your site and see conversions. Google Analytics is a free tool that is commonly used.

We often like to bring the project full circle, by gathering everyone who played a role in bringing the website design to life for a retrospective meeting. It’s a chance to collectively identify successes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement, which can be invaluable to future efforts. And one last word of advice: Take time to celebrate the launch of your new website. Writing, designing, building, and developing a website is no small endeavor and it’s worth recognizing a job well done.

Web design inspiration

Following are three web designs we’ve worked on recently

Swedish Careers website

Bay Shore website

Innovation Outreach website

For more tips, read what one of our resident web design experts has to say.