Why We Build Websites in Just 2 Weeks | GSD Process
Ok, honesty time. I wasn’t the first one to come up with the 2 Week Web Design process.
I actually learned about it from Paige Brunton (check out her awesome site here!) She is the ultimate Squarespace and business guru in my opinion!
I took her Square Secrets and Square Secrets Business courses and learned sooo much! If you’re interested in DIY-ing your own site and want to use Squarespace I highly recommend taking her Square Secrets course. One of the things I learned while taking her courses was this super awesome 2 Week Web Design process.
Now, I have to admit I did everything just like she lays out in the course (can you say super comprehensive! Yasss!!) But after I started working with clients I found I needed to tweak a few things for it to fit my business perfectly.
So here are the reasons behind why I now build websites in 2 weeks.
Faster Finish Means Faster Launch
According to this article by Bill Erickson you can expect your brand new website to take 12 weeks from conception to launch. Now, granted, this article is referencing Wordpress websites from an agency instead of Squarespace sites from an independent designer, so do take that into consideration. But a quick Google search will reveal that this 10-12 week period is the commonly accepted industry standard.If you’re a small or medium business needing a new website, 3 months is an awful long time to wait! You want to get your digital presence out there NOW! This is one of my favorite reasons to build a website in 2 weeks. It’s often shocking to prospective clients who have done a bit of research and have seen these much longer project times.
You might be on a tight deadline for launching your site or you might just have a goal in mind and not want to wait that long. Either way, getting your site built and launched in 2 weeks means you can check it off your to do list and get the ball rolling on the next thing! (Which, ideally, would be focusing on the parts of your business you love!) Now, if I’m being totally transparent with you guys, you should know that just getting your website built and launched shouldn’t be the end of this to do item.
If you want a website that converts (gets people to do the thing you want - subscribe to a newsletter, book a call with you, buy a product, etc.) you need a good way to promote that site. That could be through an email list, SEO keywords (you should definitely have at least basic SEO built into your site - ask your designer about this!), on social media (don’t sleep on this! Facebook groups have been phenomenal aids to small businesses trying to book their first clients), word of mouth, etc. But that’s a longer discussion for another time! For some great tips check out Paige Brunton’s article on 8 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Squarespace Site.
Guaranteed Finish Date
We touched on this a bit in the last section, but having a set-in-stone finish and launch date for a website is super important to me! I’m the kind of person that loves checklists, flow charts, and timelines. I’m the one reading all the fine print of a lease or contract and highlighting sections I don’t agree with! (To be discussed and clarified of course!) That being said, if we agree on a project timeline you can bet your buns I will be finished on time (unless of course I lose both my arms in some kind of crazy accident, but so far that hasn’t happened!)I appreciate when people respect my time, so I do the same for my clients. If I take longer than agreed upon that might wreak havoc in my client’s personal timeline and schedule - which is no bueno! Finishing on time also means I know exactly how many clients I can work with in a given time period and still be able to give them 110% of my attention and energy, instead of having to delay multiple projects because one ran over or divide my mental capacity between several clients at once.
All around, having a guaranteed finish date helps both the client and me!
It’s a win-win!
Unlimited Revisions
I can already hear you saying “But Ranita - how can you offer unlimited revisions to a site if you’re only taking 2 weeks to build the whole thing?”
Well, my friend, the secret is utilizing deadlines!
Going back to that article by Bill Erickson, most agencies will take 2-3 weeks on average for revisions and editing alone. That’s because the design team will build the site, send it to the client for editing, then have to wait to hear back, then make the changes and send it to the client again, rinse and repeat. This back and forth can sometimes take a full 3 weeks or more because there was no set deadline in place to begin with.I explain to each of my clients that they are guaranteed an unlimited number of revisions or edits to the draft site within a specified time period.
That means if they get their feedback submitted super quick we can make a ton of changes! On the other hand, if they take longer to get back to me, they’ll have fewer opportunities for me to change the things they don’t like. But don’t think me too rigid or heartless! I lay all of this out before we even start, and even before they pick a design date. I want to set my clients up for success, so I encourage them to pick a time period when they can dedicate their full attention to this process. Trying to cram a website build into the week before they go on vacation is not the ideal choice!
I want a good experience for my clients as well as myself!
Dedicated Attention
Another reason I love building websites in 2 weeks is because I can give each of my clients my undivided attention. Taking on one client at a time means I don’t have to juggle multiple priorities or competing deadlines. I don’t have to worry about multitasking, because I only have one client!
That might not seem like a huge deal, but when you look at design agencies’ average of 6-8 clients at once you can immediately tell why they average 10-12 weeks to complete a project. Their time and attention is being divided between 6-8 clients at once!I don’t know about you, but I have definitely bought into the myth of multitasking before. For years I thought it was a badge of honor to be a “great multitasker.”
In my previous job as an Executive Assistant I would often have a whole team of people to keep track of, making sure each person completed their goals by the deadline, following up on overdue items. I had 8-10 people consistently sending me emails every day with new tasks to complete or track. I took such pride in being able to keep all those balls in the air!However, once I got out of that field I found I was actually much more productive focusing on one task at a time. Why? Because I wasn’t being interrupted with unrelated information every 10 minutes. I remember getting soooo annoyed at all the people coming up to my desk with “just a quick question”. It would take me out of my concentration flow with whatever I was working on, and even if it was just a 2 minute interruption it would take me even longer to switch gears and get back to what I was doing, which would ultimately make the overall task time longer.
The same would be true if I was working with multiple clients at once. Imagine trying to track and implement multiple client feedback for site revisions at once! That would make for some busy and stressful days!
Taking on one client at a time alleviates all that.
Personal Connection
All that dedicated attention means spending a good bit of time together - and that inevitably means developing a personal connection.
I love being able to dive into a client’s business, hear why they’re passionate about it, and lend a helping hand with getting them closer to their next goal! Being able to spend quality time together and hear the “why” behind their goals helps me to deliver exactly what they need - even if it’s not something they specifically asked for. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know!I remember being on a discovery call with this one potential client. She was telling me all about her current site and how she ended up there. She had specifically contacted me about wanting to add a store to her site, but the more we talked the more pain points I was able to identify and offer suggestions on how to improve. We talked about restructuring some pages to feature more client testimonials (she had a TON of past art commissions that were hiding on a page all their own), and about how to better frame things to get Google’s attention. At the end of the call we had a laundry list of ideas to attract visitors to her site and better promote her business.
Even though we didn’t end up doing all the things we talked about due to budget constraints, it was super fun to talk through her vision for her site! And she walked away with a list of ideas to implement herself or even with someone else.
Having a personal connection with my clients allows me to give added value.
Benefits All Around!
As you can see, there are many upsides for my clients because of this 2 week web design process. Not only do they get individual and undivided attention, they also feel empowered and in control of their design. Building effective websites is really a team effort, and I love being able to partner with a client instead of it being a one-woman-show. Because ultimately it’s not just about my design skill or website knowledge - it’s about the client and their business. I’m just there to help them showcase their passion to the world and promote how they help people!I truly enjoy this process because neither of us feel rushed (my life is crazy enough already!), everyone knows what to expect, and we get to keep our sanity while ending up with a result we love (a beautiful website for the client, and a happy client for me! Yay!)