In order for you to have a great website, we have an open, honest relationship with one another supported by responsible communication. One of our main goals is to make this as easy for you as possible. So when you provide your feedback and any “homework” we need on time, we’ll deliver you a great, effective website in a timely and affordable manner.
Editor’s Note: This article frequently mentions the “Kickoff meeting”. Please be aware that the Kickoff meeting is not the first meeting you have with us. You do not need to have any of your content ready before contacting us with questions or to get started. For more on the overall process, please visit our Project Roadmap page.
Share Your Opinion & Feedback
Our primary goal is to create an effective website for your micro-business, but we also want it to be something you will be incredibly proud of. During the Kickoff meeting as we discuss “comps” together, don’t hold back. And if that’s really not your strong suit that’s okay. We’re pretty good at asking the right questions and pointing out things that are good or bad about websites, to make sure we understand what you want and need from your website.
The same thing applies during the Review meetings. If you don’t understand why we’ve done something a certain way, please speak up. This website will represent you and your business. It’s incredibly important that it be done right!
While we may be experts on micro-business websites, you’re the expert on your business and your customer. The better we work together and the more honest we can be with one another, the more impactful your website will be for your business.
Provide Your Written Content
Most small business websites we build use content (words, pictures, and videos) that our client has provided. During the Kickoff meeting, we review or plan the overall site structure (list of tabs or pages) together with you. We also outline any new pages together. Sometimes we extend the project to include content writing, to make things as convenient for you as possible.
After the Kickoff meeting, we’ll provide you with a complete list of all the content we need and what the plan is for each piece (i.e. “Client writing, WFA writing, stock image, etc.)
1: Content From Your Existing Website
If you already have an existing website that’s just getting a facelift, this is a particularly painless process. After all, it’s not like we’re starting over! During the Kickoff meeting, we’ll go over the pages on your current website together. You’ll need to make a few decisions about what pages to add or get rid of. Usually, you already know the answers because you’ve been talking about changing the website for a long time already. Sometimes clients aren’t ready to make those decisions right away, which is fine, just let us know no later than Review One. And thanks to Advanced Support, we’ll do any content changes for you later at no additional cost provided that it’s on an existing page. New pages are just a small one-time setup fee.
2: Written Content For A Brand New Website
If you’re getting ready for the first website for your micro-business, don’t worry! We got you covered! We’ve worked with lots of businesses just getting their first website – either because they were new, had never had a website before, or had an old website fall by the wayside a while back. We have tons of ways we can help. Plus, you already know so much about your business that it’s really just a matter of working together to get that information out of your head and onto paper, so we can share it with your customers!
2a: Writing Content Yourself
You may think “I’m not a writer, I’m just a fill-in-the-blank!” Don’t worry, we’re here to help! We have several tools and tricks that have proved particularly effective at helping small business owners (and the folks that keep their businesses running) create great content for their websites.
- Outlining pages together with you.
- Writing prompt questions to help you get started writing any page.
- Simple suggestions for how to organize your words as you break a page down further.
2b: Let Us Write It For You
Many micro business owners are not interested in writing things up themselves, or just don’t have the time right now. We can write most of your content for you, with just a little help from you. If we’re writing content for you, we make it our goal to take as little of your time as is reasonable while still providing your business with an effective website. Here’s how it goes:
- Content Outlining meeting with you (typically during the Kickoff meeting.)
- Our team writes, edits, and revises each page. Once we think it’s ready…
- We send it to you for review.
- We put the revised/approved content on the new website.
Provide Your Logo, Photos, Videos, and More
Please send us your logo files in advance, or bring them with you to the Kickoff meeting.
Your Top Five Photos
Whenever it makes sense for the business, we ask our clients to send us or bring for their top five photos to the Kickoff meeting. Seeing the things you’re most proud of greatly helps us understand you and your business better. It also helps us create a website design that uses the right imagery (whether yours or from professional stock) and sets the right tone.
Additional Photos for Services, Products, Team Photos, and any Galleries
The rest of your photos are needed by Review One. You can upload them through the Dropbox link we provide or you can email them or bring a USB flash drive. Any image you don’t have ready at Review One can always be added later at no additional charge thanks to one of the key features of our included Advanced Support service: “Unlimited changes to the content of the existing pages of your website.“