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Limiting Website Revisions—How it Helps the Creative Process

Why limit revisions? Can’t I just make changes until I am happy?

Good question, and one we get asked all the time when designing websites, brochures or anything else for that matter.

Limiting website revisions does not deter the creative process; it actually helps to focus it.

We’re not being lazy—there are definite benefits to you in keeping revisions tight, especially in a website redesign. We want you to be happy with the final product—and the final invoice.

It’s not all up to us

Your communication about your company, your market, and your needs are essential in guiding us in the direction your brand concept will take. Give your brand identity thought, discuss it among your team and arrive at a consensus before we begin. Read more about how building consensus works for you

If you aren’t there yet, don’t worry! That’s part of the fun of crafting your brand.

In that case, have your entire team at our first meeting for an open discussion about:

Who you are
What you stand for as a company (your values and goals)
Who are your competitors and what they are doing right (and wrong)
In what ways are you different from your competitors
What makes your clients reach for a Xanax at night: What are their biggest worries in business?
The problem (s) your product or service solves in people’s lives?
Your strengths and weaknesses
Your goals for your website
How do you give people a reason to believe?

Only you can help us discover what that reason is. That’s the foundation your brand is built on.

It’s all about customer acquisition

The strategy we create is designed to take people through the decision-making process and arrive at a decision to buy from you. The design, copy, headlines, images, storytelling and page structure lead them.

Get us going in the right direction

If we have a clear direction, the initial design presentation will be on target, and you will have great choices that work for you.

Each design we present in the first round of ideas will approach the concept differently, but be a reflection of an agreed upon message. In our first strategy meeting, we will bring examples so that we can discuss the overall design, photography direction, and key messaging. If your team has ideas, now is the time to share them with everyone.

We rarely miss the target when our clients help us to define who they are and participate wholly in the process.

Be ready for your Website Redesign meeting

Be prepared! Make a list of your requirements

Discuss the structure of your site prior to our meeting with your team
Make a list of the content priorities for your home page
Look at other sites in your industry to see what they are doing and what they have on their sites
See what competitors might be missing or not talking about
Get input from your team on what needs to be on your website
What functions do you want? Put yourself in the user’s place and think about how your site should work
Make a quick sketch on a piece of paper, showing where you want things to go.

It will help you think it out. Many revisions are due to content changes.

Round 1

In the initial presentation, we zero in on a specific concept and design direction.

We analyze the input from our conversations with you and your team and transform the ideas into the design. You will see a presentation with 2 or 3 concepts created for the home page. Each concept will speak into a specific benefit of your product or service. The headlines, images, fonts and colors will reflect a different benefit or show one in different ways.

Our clients may have initial changes at this stage. This round of changes, if any, would be the most comprehensive. Often, we have very few changes. This is the time to really digest the design, ask questions, discuss your needs and make the more global changes in the first round. Imagine this is your actual website. Once we have your feedback, we’ll show you the revised design for approval.

The next thing you see is a live demo of your site.

Technology has improved so much, we are able to create a live site in a shorter timeframe. We are now in the production stage.

Round 2

At this point in the website development, we have a clear direction for the images, color, styles and layout. Now we build out the home page and a few subpages, applying the design direction to each one.

At this point, we need to have all of the content ready, edited and approved. If we are writing it, we have already sent it to you for review. If you are providing it, we need to have it in order to build the pages.

You will see your site in action and how your content lays into the pages. You are involved in every stage of the building phase and can navigate around your real site. Typically, very minor changes to the design occur in round 2.

This is where a lot of projects get bogged down and revisions pile up.

Because we build layouts according to the copy, we have to have it when we build out a page. Content is sectioned off in columns so that readers don’t suffer through long blocks of text, which they will ignore. Changing copy is a revision!

The Benefits of Limiting Website Revisions

• Your project will get done faster

• There will be less confusion on both sides

• The design team will not experience burnout

• It helps us both be accountable for the timetable

• You will keep your project on budget

• Procrastination disappears and your decision-making process is clearer

• The design will look fresher and not look “worked over” or turn out like the kitchen sink

• Your message will not be muddled by over-thinking

That’s why we stick to 2 rounds of changes.

It holds you accountable and helps you focus in on things early on, saving a lot of time, money and disappointment in the long run.

The bottom line is, get consensus on the direction you want to take before we start designing.

Do your homework. Look at other websites and see what they are doing that you might like to do on your site. Be clear in your communications with your design team, so they can get your website in front of your audience as soon as possible.