As you’ve probably noticed, Sisarina has been a little busy on the social scene. We’ve been hosting networking events and fashion shows through our DCTweetup & DCTwixer, setting up swanky parties for TEDxPotomac, and being interviewed by CNN (on TV soon!). We've even been back in business for one year today. (Happy Birthday, Sisarina!) Although we have a lot to show for what we’ve been doing, our primary business is marketing, branding and web design.

Over the last few months you’ve seen our trade show booth work for Health Research & Analysis and Design to Delivery at tradeshows. You’ve also seen us launch websites for:  MSA Incorporated, Federal Resources, Ontario Knife Company, Jerry’s Seafood’s Crab Bomb, Boyd Roofing, and many others.

Our design & development team led by Sisarina's project manager, Amanda Huffman, have been hard at work putting together marketing materials and websites for numerous area companies and it seems they’re all ready to launch at once!

Sisarina proudly presents you with new websites launched this week for:
Mary Beall Adler – Creativity coaching
Georgetown Bagelry – Bethesda bagel shop
Law Offices of Peter Enslein – DC law firm
M-Art – DC area design firm
Pet Groomerie - FL-based pet grooming shop
Wild Rose Creations - NorCal ostrich & emu egg gifts
 

Lots more to come as our portfolio grows! Let us know what you think of our latest projects - our clients would love your comments about their websites.

Is your website ready for a Sisarina revamp?

Part 1 of our blog post outlined the need for clarity as web design projects begin. We covered the RPF process, The Contract, and Identity Development, three crucial elements of the design process that rely heavily on input from the client. Knowing how to say what you mean and mean what you say can help guide you smoothly from soup to nuts.

In part two, we explore the four remaining parts: the design and development of your website, as well as the content management and website launch.

The Design Process

Design composites developed during the design phase are meant to reflect the personality and history of the customer. If you’re not entirely upfront, the accuracy and clarity of design can be compromised. As well, supplying the design team with company style guides before the process starts will ensure that the proper fonts, logos and other necessary style elements are used. This can save you lots of time and money.

As design comps are offered up for feedback, this is an excellent time to tell us what you don’t like and what you do like. Using the clear communications established in the RFP phase will come in handy. Explain what you mean when the logo is “too green” or “it doesn’t look right.” Designers are highly skilled at what they do, but they aren’t mind readers. If you don’t speak up, they can’t refine the design appropriately.

The Development Process

After the design has been selected and finalized to represent the customer’s true identity, the designs are sent to the developers so that they can make the site come alive. Any functionality included in the site will be developed during this phase.

Although much, if not all of the functionality and user capabilities were spelled out while the contract was being drafted, adding or revising the specifications can be done along the way. However, if it’s not added during the development process, changes can be quite costly and slow down the project considerably.

Usually once developed, the site remains on a temporary server, which allows for user testing. This is the best time to get familiar with your site. Bring in other people from your company to play around the site and use it much the same way you expect your customers to. Any questions or infrastructural changes you have can be made easily now by the development team.

Content Management

Websites require content. Although Sisarina’s content management system (CMS) is easy to use and ideal for adding and editing content, customers are encouraged to supply any or all content while sites are in development. Taking the time the upload content after the site has been developed can further delay the process.

If you don’t have content or need content rewritten, it’s best to work that into the contract, so that the marketing team can write new content specifically for your site.

The Website Launch

Establishing clear channels of communication at the beginning will ensure that your site will launch on time. However, there are many tasks that customers must complete before a site has launched. If it is a new site, has the domain been secured? Do you need to set up a PayPal account for ecommerce? If the site has been redesigned, current customers may need to be updated about any anticipated downtime or content reorganization. Of course, your project manager will guide you through these steps, but preparing for them ahead of time can make a difference.

Finally, before a site is successfully launched, it’s strongly recommended that several employees or administrators be trained about how to manage the web site. While customer support is always available, Sisarina works to empower its clients so that they can own and manage their sites confidently and masterfully.

Customer training is built into our contracts to ensure that enough time is allotted before the site is launched.

Conclusion

Web design and other marketing campaigns aren’t hands-off projects. Their success depends on the input and decisions of our clients. Being involved in the process helps to maintain clarity and keep expectations within reach. Being open and honest throughout all the phases described will help keep your branding and marketing messages on track. Best of all, staying on track will assure your customers that your website is open for business.

Sisarina is a helpful lady. We like to say that she’s more than a pretty face.

She is knowledgeable about design, development, content management, SEO and brand marketing. And though she is intuitive about what works and what doesn’t, she isn’t a mind reader.

That’s why, when customers come to Sisarina for help, we work with them so we can understand a company’s brand— their personality, the way they work and what they want to be.

Sisarina helps to empower customers so they can feel confident about their brand throughout the process, as well as after. We ask questions designed to uncover information about your users so that we can design a website, logo or marketing strategy that makes sense. And we can give you the tools, whether it’s our customizable CMS, style guides or social media training, that are necessary to stay in control of your brand.

At Sisarina we work to give a voice to your identity, corporate or personal. There’s no better way to start than with a conversation. Call, email or Tweet Sisarina. We invite you to start a conversation with us today.