Last year, while we were working with Halfpops to design and develop a new website, we were introduced to their I.T. service provider — the Bellevue, Washington-based team at Digux. While working closely with Digux to ensure a smooth launch, we learned a great deal about the company, their approach to technology, and what really sets them apart from other I.T. service providers.
Digux founder Dustin Frost is passionate about the work his team does, and his enthusiasm is infectious, but he felt their website should better represent the company and showcase their dedication to going above and beyond for their customers.
One conversation led to another, and our team began working with Digux to help refine their story, and develop a new website that better represented the brand they had built. I’ll be sharing their story here in the context of our process to shed some light on what it takes to bring a new website to life.
Client Questionnaires (asking the right questions)
When Coordinate begins working with a new client, we ask them to fill out a customized questionnaire. The purpose is two-fold:
- The questionnaire allows us to learn more about the company, industry, goals, challenges, competition, etc.
- The questions we ask cover a variety of topics, and often require our clients to think about their business in a new way. Answering some of these questions can be challenging, but more often than not, the exercise leads to really insightful discoveries.
After reviewing Digux’s client questionnaire, we began working on a full content audit — establishing a new narrative structure, refining their existing content, and writing new copy as needed (shout out to our awesome copywriters!).
This process also allowed us to establish a sitemap for the new website, which we could use to guide the next stages of the process.
Wireframes (starting to see where this is going)
Once we had the sitemap/outline established, we began creating wireframes for the homepage and select content elements. During this process we pay special attention to the responsive designs, ensuring all content will look great regardless of device or screen size.
For the new homepage, we wanted to establish the “who”, “what”, and “why” right away, so this information went above the fold.
A wireframe concept for display a featured blog post.
A wireframe concept for displaying multiple customer testimonials.
A section of the home page, showcasing blog posts, the start-up process, contact information, and the website footer.
After a thorough review and a few revisions, we were ready to start designing.
Design Phase (now this looks like a real website)
The design phase is one of the most fulfilling parts of any website project. All of the time and effort spent organizing and outlining really pays off as colors are added, logos are placed, typefaces are set, buttons are styled, and everything starts taking shape. Our designers do an amazing job at bringing the wireframes to life and we always look forward to sharing design mockups with clients for the first time.
The new homepage really came to life when we added the colors, images, and typefaces.
A design concept for displaying a featured blog post.
A design concept for displaying multiple customer testimonials.
A section of the home page, showcasing blog posts, the start-up process, contact information, and the website footer.
For Digux, the evolution of wireframes to mockups had everyone excited to keep moving, which leads us to…
Development (the process of putting it all together)
Building a theme from the ground-up, as opposed to relying on out-of-the-box templates, is not the best option for everyone (and it’s not always not the cheapest or quickest solution), but when done right, the end result is more than worth the cost and time investment. By developing from scratch, we can perfectly match the design mockups, implement the exact functionality needed, and create a flexible foundation that can evolve with your business as it grows. In addition, the custom-developed site doesn’t need the unnecessary bloat that one-size-fits-all solutions have to cram in to accommodate as broad an audience as possible. This allows for better performance and reduces the risk of bugs or compatibility issues popping up. We’ve also met countless businesses that start with an out-of-the-box solution only to find they end up wasting more time and money trying to force it to become what they need.
Implementation (ready, set, go!)
With the development finished, we’re almost ready for launch. We setup Google Analytics and Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools), ensure all SEO best practices are in place, and configure the hosting servers and domains as needed.
Oftentimes our website launches are part of a larger marketing effort that includes social media management, email campaigns, press releases, and advertising, so by this stage of the process we have all the complementary marketing initiatives ready to go. We establish a date and time to “go live” and our team is on-hand to ensure everything goes smoothly.
The new Digux website, with a responsive design compatible with all devices and screen sizes.
As an added bonus, Dustin recently wrote a blog post showcasing the evolution of the Digux website over the past 14 years. We’re thrilled we could play a part in the latest chapter of Digux’s history and look forward to watching their business continue to grow and thrive.
“Digux has been especially pleased working with Vince and the Coordinate team to revamp our website because they took the appropriate time up-front to help us review our messaging and validate our needs thoroughly and they were able to communicate effectively throughout the different phases of the project to make sure our requirements were met. As a technology provider, we know how difficult it can be to deliver world class support and what defines success for our customers. We believe Coordinate shares that same approach when helping their customers and we highly recommend working with them on any of your future projects. Lastly, since the launch of our new website we have received 20% more sales inquiries which is great for our ROI.” –Dustin Frost, Founder