We understand that committing to a web developer is no easy choice. At Abstract, we are dedicated to communicating every step of the process to you along the way; minimizing your confusion and gauging your expectations. Whether this is your first step in vetting Abstract as your web partner, or you’re comparing our process to another company’s, allow us to peel back the curtain on a web design process that has been shaped by a decade of quality work and customer satisfaction. 

The Web Design Timeline 

Phase 1  Estimation	Initial Contact  The Web Design process begins once you contact one of our developers, account managers, or sales associates. We will determine if we can meet your needs and schedule an in-person Design Interview with you at no cost.
	Design Interview  In the Design Interview, we will sit down with you with the goal of understanding your needs and discuss tentative designs. We will work to create a clear picture of how this website will become a part of you or your business as a whole. This meeting's goal is to create a clear list of requirements and expectations that will allow us to create a design work quote.
	Quote Provision  Once we have a clear picture of the project, we will get to work on a web design contract with a quoted estimation for cost and timeline. We will work with you to meet your budget and communicate a breakdown of costs. Once we have settled and signed a contract, we will begin work as soon as possible.
Phase 2 Development	Design  In the first stages of the process, we will be working on the look and feel of the website. During this stage, we will create wireframe mockups, branding guides, color palettes, all custom made to match the project's needs.
	Design Review  Once we have completed mockups of the website, we will schedule a meeting with you to review the designs and get your feedback. We will repeat this step as needed until we’ve found a design that suits your needs.
	Development  Once designs are approved, we’re able to get to work underneath the hood. We will take our designs and build out your website in a way that makes it easily editable in the future, using October CMS. Content for the website must be provided during this time.
Phase 3 Handoff	Final Review  Once development is completed, we will schedule a time to review the final product and show you the complete, functioning website. You will have a chance to critique small items like content, colorations, ordering, images, or page URLs.
	Training  After we’ve received your final stamp of approval, we will schedule a training session with you. During this session, we will show you how to use the website’s editor to edit any and all images and text on your website. You will also be able to use every design component we created to extend your website and create new pages.
	Support  Once your training is complete, we will take your site live and consider our contract complete. At this point you are considered “In Support”. You are welcome to reach out to Abstract for additional changes, future projects, or any issues you may encounter with your site, now billed at our hourly rates.

Estimating Costs

Website’s costs can vary widely, but we will never surprise customers with costs they don’t understand. Most website projects fall into three categories: website refreshes, single-page websites, or multi-page websites, but websites come in many shapes and sizes. A website refresh refers to updating the design and style of an existing website already populated with content. These typically start at $2,500 for initial design work and theming updates, but costs vary widely based on the complexity and size of the site. Single-page websites start at $3,000, but also vary based on complexity and amount of content. Multi-page websites have the highest cost ceiling, but the simplest multi-page website starts at $4,250, increasing with each page and custom component.  

What's Next For My Finished Website?

Once we've handed over the keys, you can take a moment to celebrate a major milestone, but being a good steward of your website only begins once its taken live. Like any good investment, websites benefit from ongoing attention and goal-oriented strategies. Your website can be a powerful tool to bolster any new initiatives you are pursuing, drive new client streams, inform your clients, and grow your brand. Continually adding new content and optimizing your existing content will drive your search results higher up the rankings, ensuring potential clients find you. We understand these may be new skills for you, which is why Abstract can consult or partner with you to meet your goals.

Why Abstract? 

Abstract's web design philosophy is built to enable you to take ownership of your site and ensure your site will last long beyond its initial design. We build our websites in state of the art web frameworks that will make future edits and updates simple, painless, and cost-effective.

Abstract's commitment to customer service means you will always be able to reach our developers directly, by phone or email. Our relationship with our clients never ends when we hand over the keys to your website; we are dedicated to ongoing support. This is what sets us apart from other web developers. 

We also work to enable your website ownership, providing any access you need, training and documentation for your site, and how-to guides when you request.  We will never hold your site hostage; our goal is to make web ownership as painless as possible.