How It Is Done

Site projects are begun with a potential client contacting aae Designs.  Most of these new clients discovered this site on the internet.  Others reach aae Designs through referrals or some sort of personal networking.

Pre-Design Contact

With the initial contact, a web designer/developer (almost exclusively Arthur Lathrop) will get as much information from a client as is necessary to provide an initial estimate.  Quotes are provided in two different ways.  Clients may choose to either pay a flat fee or a dynamic one (computed at the end of the project).  While flat fees can lock in a price, dynamic rates will almost always prove to be lower in the end.  If a client chooses a dynamic rate, aae Designs will provide a low estimate, an absolute maximum, and the expected cost.  This provides clients with a good idea of what the costs will be and still provides them with the security of knowing what the ceiling cost will be.  Clients which prefer a formal contract may get one, but most opt for more informal arrangements. 

Initial Web Design

As soon as a client agrees to an estimate and features to include in the site, initial design work is done.  Depending on the project, this may or may not follow the client providing images, logos, or other materials.  Clients receive a graphic image of a website design.  Depending on the client's own personal tastes, the material provided earlier, the quality of the initial design, and a bit of luck, additional designs or simply refinements are made.  With quick response times (sometime difficult through email or with time differences), designs may be completed in as little as 24 hours.  Usually the process stretches out to about a week.  At any time during this process if the work done by aae Designs is not satisfactory, a client may drop the project without any obligations.

Development and Content

Once a design is approved, it is quickly converted into HTML code.  After a second approval from the client (this time confirming the design as a website meets expectations), the code is replicated for the various pages of the site.  The content provided by the client is then added to the site.  If necessary, aae Designs will provide feedback on the site content to help optimize it for search engines.  As content is added, clients are repeatedly given opportunities to view the site progress to offer suggestions, ask questions, and request changes. For more complex sites, a programming period often takes place at the same time as the content is added to the site.

Finishing Touches

Completed sites are uploaded to the internet and the site is submitted to search engines.  Depending on the client's preferences, aae Designs may or may not submit it to various web directories as well.  Upon submission to search engines and directories, most sites are completed.  Sites are designed so that clients are not dependent on aae Designs for future updates.  Continued business with a client is viewed as a privilege, granted solely by the client.