“Kat! I paid this dude to build my site, and it SUCKS!!!!!”

I hear it every day. That or: “Kat! I need to build my site, and I have a new photographer ready to go. I have my colors picked and my wardrobe at the ready!”

These are both symptoms of working backwards. The foundational stuff isn’t getting taken care of; no one is telling them they need it, and the house they so gingerly wanted to live in gets torn down.

“Do you have your brand and strategy handled before heading into the artsy stuff?” I ask.

“What? Um. I think so. What?”

Almost every client I’ve ever had wants to jump into the “fun” conversations of colors and photography before having a solid foundation of WHO they’re selling to, WHAT their brand is and a true connection to WHY they’re doing it all. They’re sort of clear about the style they like, but how often have you told a designer you like a certain style only to have them RIP OFF the thing you like?

More often than not!

Guys, we can’t build a house without drawing up a plan first.

Here’s how to save yourself a bunch of time and money as explained to my clients:

1. We’re going to talk about your goals and process
2. Then we create your brand – who you are positioned as, how you sound, etc.
3. We then work out how the user maneuvers around your site and only THEN
4. We head into color, layout, and photography.

Deal?

Guys, this is not neuroscience, this is construction: you don’t start pouring concrete until you’ve got plans down. Period, end of story. Try doing it the other way and waste a lot of time and money. Pinky swear.

Don’t want to pay for a website TWICE? Do it right the first time.

Get the strategy and branding bit down FIRST.

Don’t know how?

You have a few options: Learn about the Branding & Strategy Intensives here. Or if you know what you need, get in touch.

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