Everyone knows not to fix something that isn't broken. Weirdly, though, even when something is broken, it sometimes goes months or years without a fix. That's what is happening with the traditional website design process. It is clearly broken, but no one is saying anything. Companies keep buying websites and agencies keep building them, with a process that's detrimental to both. The traditional web design process is broken. This is why:
Pay a Fortune Up Front
For most web design projects, agencies require a huge up front cost. The reason they do that is that they're charging you for a finished product. Typically, websites are designed and built blindly. No data. Just random direction based on whims. An agency will charge that full cost up front and then get to work on your project, with every intention of handing you back a site that you won't have to touch again (even though that's never been the case - the best websites change often).
SEE ALSO: Learn why Inbound Marketing is the perfect marketing strategy for your website
Spin Your Wheels
After you've paid the money, the project can begin. Expect it to take a long time. Because there are no data-informed decisions being made, the website is a blank canvas for the designer and he/she and you might have greatly differing ideas about what is or is not good. So, there are several changes and revisions before the site is even live for the first time. Some of the changes minor, some major, but all slow the project considerably. In the meantime, your customers can't see your site and some may not look again.
Dislike Your Website
You've paid a ton of money, waited a long time ... and you hate your website. It launches, but it doesn't work well. Or, you made several changes and settled on a design or layout that isn't as great as you remember it being. Either way, there's nothing in your agreement that says the agency will fix it for free (and your budget is strained from the initial cost). Instead, you live with a website you don't like until it's time for a redesign.
(Start Again)
With the traditional website design process, there's an unofficial step (hence the parentheses). Unfortunately, this 'step' is what traps companies in a cycle of expensive, slow-to-launch, poor performing website projects. Because you paid a huge up front cost, waited around for months, and then found out you bought a site you don't like or doesn't work how it should, you're stuck in a loop. The next step is paying huge up front (again) for a complete redesign.
OR...
Launch Site, Learn, Improve
The OneFire Web Design Process is simple: lower up front cost, a quick launch of a starter site, then collecting analytics and making improvements from there until this Internet fad dies down. With the OneFire Web Design Process, you have the site you want - all the time. Also, your site is constantly improving and changing based on hard data that is collected around the clock. You can feel confident that your site is what your customers want and what your business needs.
Inbound Marketing
Looking for a marketing strategy to pair with your greatest marketing asset? Inbound Marketing takes your website and turns it into a lead-driving machine. By creating valuable original content that helps people, you position your company as the go-to resource for whatever industry you're in. People are naturally drawn to great content and when they engage, you can naturally nurture them as leads through the buying process until they become customers.
If something is broken - it should be fixed. The OneFire Web Design Process is that fix. If you're sick of being stuck in the redesign cycle, let's talk today.
