Our Process

Customer Onboarding – Get to Know Our Team!

The first step in a successful website project is to make sure our project manager connects with the decision maker for your company. Our VP of Sales, Shane, will introduce you to Mariann and the development team. This could be by phone call, by email, or by an in person meeting in our office. The fridge is stocked and ready, and we can’t wait to meet you!

Project Discovery Meetings: Depending on the size and features of your new website, we may schedule a meeting with our project manager, a developer, and your team to learn more about your business and your customers. This will help us make critical decisions to ensure your website is a tool that works well for you.

Send Us Your Logo! We will need high-resolution copies of your logo and any other marketing materials you use. This helps us with inspiration, and ensures we will design a website you love! No logo? No problem! We can help you out with this too.

What Do You Like? We will ask for some examples of websites you like, and websites you do not. This helps our website designers ensure that we deliver you a design first draft that you will love.

A Website Is Only as Good as its Content.

If you purchased professional content writing, Mariann will put you in touch with one of our skilled content writers. The first step in content writing is an hour-long phone meeting, where your content writer gets to know you, your business history, and your personality. We want to create fresh content that reflects who you are, so this interview is important! Full website content writing takes a few weeks, depending on how much you need.

If you decide to write your own content, we will send you an example of how content should be laid out.

Photography Can Make or Break a Website

Professional photographs are a critical part of a great-looking website. We can introduce you to a photographer, or assist you with purchasing stock imagery to make your website look great.

Let’s Set Some Dates!

Now that we have your logo, and an ETA for content writing, we can plan out your whole project! Our Project Manager, Mariann, will prepare a schedule for the project deliverables. The timeline is meant to keep us on schedule, and to keep your project deliverables transparent. Some things on the timeline are action items you will need to take, so please take a look at it closely to make sure the timeline works for you!

This is the phase where the overall “look” of your new website is created. Before we move into development, we need approval of the overall design. Typically, a website development will include one overall design with a minor revision.

Style Guide: Let’s pick some colors and some fonts! Iceberg will deliver a style guide, which our designers will reference throughout the design and development process.

Navigation Outline: With the help of your professional content writer (or with you, if you are writing your own website content), we will figure out all of the top-level and sub-pages your new website will have.

Wireframe: Iceberg’s “wireframe” is actually a full visual representation of the home page of your website. Using your style guide, home page content, and photographs, we will design and lay out the most important page on your website. The wireframe will serve as the master design template for your entire website, so we ask for you to review it with us, and provide feedback and revisions. Once the wireframe is completed and approved, we can move on the the development phase.

Now that the content and design are complete, we can move your website project into development!

Delivery of Full Content and Photography: Our developers need final content and photography prior to building out your website. Your content and pictures will influence how each website page is laid out.

Development Link and Home Page Completion: Using your approved wireframe, we will develop out the home page of your website. You will then receive a development (private) link, where you can view your website in a browser. We need to finalize development of your home page prior to development of all of your website pages.

Interior Page Buildout: After the home page is finalized, we will send you 1-2 interior website pages so you can see how the navigation flows, and how your whole website will come together.

Full Website Buildout: Once your interior page layout is approved, our developers will build out your entire website. Once all pages have been built, we will ask for your final review. Minor changes (some minor content spelling errors) are expected. However, since we have approved all content and photography in our earlier steps, major content changes or photo additions may extend your project timeline, and could add on to your project.

Are you selling online? Will your website have a membership section? Online booking or sales of your professional services? Multiple contact forms or online surveys?

Often times, large features are integral to the website design and development process, and may be developed in tandem with your static website pages. Our experienced development team will keep you in the loop as we develop out your unique features, and our project manager will make sure we allow for adequate time for testing features prior to website launch.

This is the most exciting part! Your new website is ready to launch. To bring your website live, we need to collect some information from you:

Domain Registration and DNS Hosting: Where is your domain registered? Is your DNS hosted at the same place, or will we be hosting your DNS? Many of our customers have purchased domains through GoDaddy or Network Solutions. You will need to have access to your domain in order to bring your new website live. (If you’re unsure of this, we can help you figure out where your domain and DNS are hosted).

Domain Transfer: Iceberg will be hosting your new website, and we can transfer your domain as well to keep everything in the same place. If you wish to transfer your domain to Iceberg, we need to initiate a domain transfer. It is best to do this at the start of your website project or after the website goes live, as domain transfers can take up to a week.

Email Hosting: If we are hosting your email, we will set up your accounts and create initial passwords for you. We can also send you directions for setting up your email in Outlook, Thunderbird, or on your phone.

Google Analytics: Once your website is live, we will install and activate Google Analytics so you can track your website traffic! If you wish, we have hosting plans that include monthly Analytics reports.

Your new website is live, but your business is changing every day! Our team is standing by, ready to make changes at your request.

Minor Changes After Website Goes Live: We expect you will catch a few minor things on your website once it goes live, and we have a 10 day period after launch where we will make small updates (minor content fixes or small corrections) at no charge. New pages, features, or design revisions would fall under billable time.

Website Access: Depending on the type of website you purchased, you may have the ability to make changes to the website yourself. If you purchased a website with back-end access, we will send you login credentials and instructions for updating your website.

Ongoing Website Updates: Need something changed? Give us a call or send an email! Most small website changes are made within an hour or two of your request.

Iceberg offers website hosting plans that include monthly maintenance and development time. If you did not sign up for one of these maintenance plans, our current rate for ongoing maintenance and website updates is $125/hour.