2. The Competitor Research & Planning Phase
What you'll do:
- Identify your key competitors: You will provide a list of the 3-5 businesses you truly compete with for customers.
- Provide specific feedback: You'll review these competitor sites with the agency and point out what you love (e.g., "Their simple navigation is great") and what you hate (e.g., "It's impossible to find their contact info").
- Confirm the strategy: After the agency presents its findings, you'll discuss the "gaps" and agree on a plan tobuild a better, more effective site.
What the agency will deliver:
- A "Keyword Gap" Analysis: A simple report showing which valuable keywords your competitors are ranking for that you currently are not. This gives us a "shopping list" of content to create.
- A Backlink Profile Review: We'll show you who is linking to your top competitors. This reveals their "votes" of authority. (e.g., "Your competitor has links from the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, three local RVA blogs, and a 'best of' list. This is our target list.").
- An On-Page & Content Plan: We'll show you exactly what content your competitors have that Google likes. (e.g., "They have a 1,500-word blog post on 'Local SEO Tips for RVA Businesses' and separate, detailed pages for 'eCommerce' and 'WordPress.' We need to create our own, better versions.").
- A Google Business Profile (GBP) Audit: We'll compare your GBP "storefront" to theirs, looking at reviews, photos, posts, and service listings.
3. The Content & Design Phase
This is where the site's personality comes to life. This phase often runs at the same time as the planning phase, as the design will be built around your actual content (text, photos, videos).
What you'll do:
Provide Your Brand Assets: You'll supply your high-resolution logo, any existing brand guidelines (colors, fonts), and any specific photos or videos you want to include.
- Provide Your Core Content: You will be responsible for providing the written text for pages like "About Us" and detailed "Service" descriptions (unless copywriting is explicitly included in the project scope).
- Review the Mockups: The agency will present you with a static, full-color, "pixel-perfect" image of what your new homepage and other key pages will look like.
- Give Clear, Consolidated Feedback: Your job is to review the mockups and provide decisive feedback. For example: "The overall look is great, but the 'Call to Action' button isn't visible enough," or "Can we try a different photo in the hero section?"
- Give Final Design Approval: You will give the final, written sign-off on the mockups. This is a critical step, as it "locks" the design and gives the agency the green light to start building.
What the agency will deliver:
- A "Keyword Gap" Analysis: A simple report showing which valuable keywords your competitors are ranking for that you currently are not. This gives us a "shopping list" of content to create.
- A Backlink Profile Review: We'll show you who is linking to your top competitors. This reveals their "votes" of authority. (e.g., "Your competitor has links from the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, three local RVA blogs, and a 'best of' list. This is our target list.").
- An On-Page & Content Plan: We'll show you exactly what content your competitors have that Google likes. (e.g., "They have a 1,500-word blog post on 'Local SEO Tips for RVA Businesses' and separate, detailed pages for 'eCommerce' and 'WordPress.' We need to create our own, better versions.").
- A Google Business Profile (GBP) Audit: We'll compare your GBP "storefront" to theirs, looking at reviews, photos, posts, and service listings.
4. The Development Phase
This is the “construction” phase of the project. Garza Web Design website builders take the static, approved design mockups from Step 3 and translates them into a fully functional, interactive website. This is often the quietest phase for you as a client, as it is the most technical, “heads-down” period for the agency.
What you'll do:
- Wait and be patient: This is typically the longest part of the project, and it’s normal to have less frequent communication. The agency is deep in technical work.
- Be available for clarification: A developer might have a quick, specific question that requires your business logic (e.g.“When a user submits the contact form, who should receive the email notification?).
- Provide any outstanding content: If you still owe the agency any final text, images, or staff bios, this is the last call toget it to them.
What the agency will deliver:
- Building the Front End: Developers are writing the core code (HTML, CSS, and Javascript) that makes the website look and function exactly like the mockups you approved.
- Ensuring Responsiveness: They are meticulously coding and testing the site to ensure it adapts perfectly to all screensizes, from large desktop monitors to tablets and mobile phones.
- Setting up the Back End (CMS): This is a critical step. The agency is installing and configuring your Content Management System (like Shopify or Drupal). They are building out the editable regions, custom fields, and templatesso that you will be able to easily change text, update photos, and add blog posts without knowing how to code.
- Internal Quality Assurance (QA): Before we show the site to you, our team is conducting its own internal testing. Weare clicking every link, testing every form, and checking for bugs or visual inconsistencies in different web browserslike Chrome, Edge, and Safari.