What to Expect When Working With Us

Expectations

Good day to you! If you’re here, it’s because you want to know what to expect when working with us at S. Barnes Designs. This post will lay out everything from how to start working with us, the process, and what happens when we’re done. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to info@sbarnesdesigns.com .

Let’s talk about website design first. The first thing that you should know is that I (Shawna) only design a single website at a time. I believe that you deserve my complete attention so that we can get your site up and running as quickly as possible. Your website is an extension of you and your business. I want to be able to focus on getting to know you, your business, your wants and needs, and be able to turn that all around to create a website that you can be proud of. I have found in my 7 years of designing websites that trying to design several at the same time takes away from the ability to transform a website from a good site to something worth your investment.

That being said, I can only designs as quickly as you provide me with the content required to create your site.

The next thing you should know is that I believe in open and honest communication. I have several disabilities that affect my day to day operations. There’s a reason my available hours are in the afternoon and why I personally prefer communication through text and email. Have you ever heard of myasthenia gravis? It’s a neuromuscular autoimmune disease that I have. If nothing else, I am thankful for it as it led me down the path to focusing on website design.

I prefer everyone be on the same page when it comes to realistic expectations as they relate to the project timeline, investment required, and functionality of your website. If there are any delays anticipated, applications that need purchasing to accomplish a desired function, or a design that just won’t work; I will let you know. I want your website to be an extension of our business; to be an asset, not an ass-sore.

Which leads me to the third thing you can expect, and that is 100% effort and work. The Army taught me to have standards and stand behind them. And I do. Sometimes those standards may cause a project to require a timeline extension. But again, that’s just because I want to create something YOU can be proud of.

Website Design Process

Discovery

The first thing that you’ll do is decide you want to work with us. Once you make that decision, you’ll head on over to the “Work With Us” page. There you will find a form to fill out that gives my team and I a good idea about what you are looking for and if we feel that we are the best team to make that happen for you. Once we evaluate that questionnaire one of two things will happen; you will get an email with additional information so we can nail down specifics and start working on your project OR we will refer you to someone who we feel is a better fit. You can expect to hear back from us within 1-2 business days.

If we decide to move forward working together, you will have the option to schedule a complimentary 15 minute discovery Zoom or phone call. In the call we can really get down to the nitty gritty and ask or answer any questions that arise concerning the scope of your website design (or redesign) project. This is optional.

You will receive a proposal with a quote for the investment required for your website design. If you missed the page with a description of the four different tiers we offer, head on over and check those out. In addition to website builds, we offer a hosting and maintenance plan. When we build your website AND you sign up for a hosting and maintenance plan, you get 10% off the maintenance for the duration of our time together. When you receive your proposal, you will have the opportunity to add the different services to your quote/proposal.

If your website is one that needs a revamp or a refresh and being able to budget a monthly investment is easier for your and your business, we can discuss adding you to our TIER 2 maintenance plan. Your website will get the attention it deserves, a refresh you can be proud of, and it will occur gradually over a couple of months instead of a couple of days. The Tier 2 maintenance plan provides four (4) hours of content updates a month.

Build Begins

Once we receive your proposal, an invoice and contract is generated. The contract may seem overkill but in case you haven’t noticed, we truly believe in full transparency. The contract just protects us both and lays out all expectations including a rough timeline for when you can expect deliverable and your site to be complete.

If we have no other website builds in our que then work will begin as soon as we receive the content we need from you. However, if we have other projects on the calendar, then we will set a proposed project start date.

Once the contract is signed and we receive your deposit (the amount will vary depending on which tier you selected) then the fun begins! You will receive a series of emails walking you through the design process. We use an application called Click Up for project management. It is a free tool that has a desktop and mobile app. It allows for real time progress updates. The emails will provide training on using Click Up, submitting the content we need to build your site, etc.

You will fill out the questionnaires and send us the images/files we need. After we receive everything, we will let you know if anything requires clarification.

If at any point we hit a “stop” point, a time where we cannot continue with your website until we receive content, images, or additional information from you then the schedule may be delayed. If we have several sites in line to be built, if we don’t get the information we need within a reasonable amount of time (usually 1 business day unless there are extenuating circumstances), then we may start the next website in our production queue. If this occurs, please understand that we will be extending them the same courtesy of only building a single site at a time so they have our full attention. We will return our attention to your site once all data has been received AND we complete our obligations to our other client(s).

Your Site is Ready!

If you’ve decided that you want to maintain and update your site then training will be provided (if required).

Hosting & Maintenance

The biggest difference is that our hosting and maintenance plan requires a 12 month commitment and that the recurring invoice be paid with autopay setup. The minimum commitment is due to our own commitments that we must make with our hosting provider and the tools utilized to keep your site safe and secure.

If you haven’t taken the time to see what all our hosting and maintenance plan covers, I encourage you to go take a look.

If you’d like to stay up to date on what we’re doing, be the first to know of any specials or promotions, I’d like to invite you to sign up for our newsletter.