Northwest Arkansas Web Design & Development

What is your process for web design & development?

Glass Ivy has a very streamlined process for the design and development of a new website. First, we have a kickoff meeting to collaborate with the client. During this time we review different website styles, branding principles, core functionality to be included, and define a sitemap. Then, we set up a new hosting account and staging environment. We install a base theme to build from. 

Then we get to work! We take the design direction, functional requirements, and sitemap to build out the website utilizing custom graphics and copy. Once it’s ready, we send you a link for review. This staging environment link acts just as a live site would so you get to test and experience the whole website before anyone else. Once approved, we connect the website to your designated domain name (URL) and publish the site. We will double check everything is working properly and after you approve the final site, you will sign a notice of completion. 

This whole process typically takes four to eight weeks depending on the size and scope of the project.

When is it time to upgrade my website?

That scooter may get you to work, but be sure you understand when it’s time to invest in something with four wheels. 

We get it, there are so many useful, cost-effective options available for a website nowadays. And that’s great! It means it’s much easier for new businesses to start building their marketing foundation quickly and painlessly. However, there may come a point in time when you need more than what that out of the box solution can provide. 

It may be time to upgrade your website to a more robust, professionally designed solution if you need any of the following: Custom tracking, processing payment tools, you need to integrate with a third-party tool or API, you want a custom feature (like a quote generator or event calendar), you want a different style or unique layout, you need to create lots of landing pages for dedicated campaigns, you want to host and leverage items like Ebooks or guides, etc. 

In short, if you want your website to look tailor-made and provide (and execute on) above standard functionality then it’s probably time to rebuild it with the help of an agency or freelance professional.

How can I improve my search engine rankings?

To improve your search engine rankings, you can optimize your website content and structure for relevant keywords, build high-quality backlinks from reputable sources, ensure your website is mobile-friendly and has fast loading speed, and provide a great user experience, just to name a few. SEO is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and adjustments to stay ahead of the competition. There is no quick fix to improve search engine rankings. It is an iterative and incremental process. 

Another way to improve your overall SEO presence is to generate continuous content. Search engines are designed to produce results that most accurately align with information an end-user will find helpful. Therefore, you better make sure your website is providing information your potential clients actually want. Content strategy is a key piece of improved search engine rankings. To accommodate this, Glass Ivy provides a variety of  content services that include items like blog posts, email campaigns, newsletters, and social media management. Glass Ivy also can create downloadable content such as case studies, guides, and reports.

When is it time to start focusing on SEO?

When to start focusing on SEO is two fold. When you first are building out a website you should be designing and developing it with SEO in mind. Your website needs to be mobile friendly, optimized for speed, incorporate technical SEO principles (meta tags, page descriptions, solid url structure, etc.), and have keyword enriched content. It’s easier to start with a solid foundation and continue to build upon it than start from a deficit. 

Alternatively, as a small business owner, the time to start focusing on SEO is when you have adequate time and resources to dedicate to it. SEO helps your sales efforts and marketing strategy, but it isn’t everything. It takes time, expertise, research, and (sometimes if you hire outside help) money. Be sure to prioritize your business goals accordingly.

Why do I need you to build me a website when I can make one myself?

If you are interested in building a website on your own through a third-party, template based tool you can do this for just a couple hundred dollars. It’s a relatively simple process with adequate customization options for many startups and small businesses. 

Alternatively, if you are looking for something more robust that will act as an inbound lead generator, have multiple pages, include form integrations, incorporate other integrations (like Analytics, Maps, Social Media Feeds, eCommerce Shops, Payment Processing), and have a great user experience across devices, you’re going to have to pay more. 

In general, having an agency design and build you a website will cost from $3,000 to $10,000. Glass Ivy includes a new custom website in our SMB Marketing Kickstarter package priced at $7,400. For a stand alone website project we typically start at $5,000.

Our website design and development services include the following: 

• SEO Best Practice Incorporation for solid SEO foundation and a smooth running website. 
• NAP formatting to ensure improved and more accurate linking to search engine directories.
• Well defined and easy to use site structure for improved user experience.
• Analytics integration for performance monitoring.
• Daily website backups for an additional layer of business continuity.
• Creation of a staging environment for easy testing, adjustments, and minimal risk of search engine penalties.
• Fully mobile optimized website design for usability.
• Social media integrations as desired.
• Allowance for simple, custom feature requests and tools (like calculators, quote generators, etc.).
• Continuous monitoring for bugs, security patches, and performance to ensure optimal performance. 

What are the strengths and weaknesses of an agency/professionally designed and developed website?

Strengths:

• • Professional and customized design
  • User experience (UX) optimization
  • Search engine optimization (SEO)
  • Integration with other marketing channels
  • Mobile optimization

Weaknesses:

• • Cost, it can cost thousands of dollars
  • It can take longer to create
  • Limited control
  • Limited knowledge of your business

Web Design Tools:

Whatever business you’re in, you need a website. Your website is usually the first impression potential customers get from your business, so make sure you’re set up for success!

• WordPress: This popular content  management system (CMS) is used by Glass Ivy for website design. With its range of themes and templates, we can customize a website specifically to fit any business’s branding. Other functionalities like SEO scoring, marketing automation, and E-commerce are available as well.
• WPEngine: We use this tool for website hosting and management. We also leverage it’s functionality to optimize client website performances with features such as caching, CDN, SSL certificates, and server-level caching. It also provides enhanced security features like malware scanning and firewalls to protect from potential threats. 
• Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics for a variety of things, but there are some specific reasons why we use it for website design. It measures a user’s behavior when they visit the site, like the bounce rate, time on page, and pages per session. This helps us identify what is working and what needs improvement. 
• WP Rocket: As an optimization plugin for WordPress websites, we use WP Rocket to improve our client’s website speed and performance. It also features optimization tools such as lazy loading and minification of code files, which can help improve user experience. 
• YOAST: Another popular plugin for WordPress sites is YOAST. At Glass Ivy we use this tool to optimize website content for search engines and improve website visibility and ranking. Similar to WP Rocket, you can test different website design and content variations to identify the most effective design. 
• Adobe Creative Suite: With its collection of design tools, Adobe Creative Suite gives us the tools to design visuals and elements for a website. 
• Google Search Console: This tool helps us monitor and improve a website’s performance on search engines. It provides metrics such as clicks, impressions, and click-through rates that can help analyze website traffic. We also use it to help identify crawl errors on each website.