When building a website, you have you pay for hosting and most people go with GoDaddy after they purchase their domain there. No matter what kind of website you decide to go with, you or the company you pay will pick a host for your website. In many instances, our clients hire a company and then don't know who hosts their website. In a few cases, those same clients don't own their domain (yes, web companies can purchase your URL) and they are billed for their URL on top of the hosting fees. Most web design companies get a kickback or a incentive to host your site with certain providers.
In the past, we have worked with coders and programmers and even trained or paid for training to be able to setup and do the back end setup for a client's website. We realize that we were putting our clients at risk and in the end, almost all of the websites we created were hacked in 2 years or less.
While we love the design features of Wix, the main benefit of using a platform such as Wix is security and that they give you a free SSL certificate. Wix wants clients to build safe websites that present a safe lock symbol in the top left of the search bar. Does your website have the lock symbol?
A major factor with website security today is that the coding behind the platform is open-source. All of WordPress websites are open-source, which is why sites designed in WordPress, Joomla and Drupal are often hacked (even several months after they are designed). Open-source coding and cheap web hosting providers are the two biggest reasons websites are hacked. Wix is quickly becoming one of the biggest web hosting platforms in the world and they are surely equipped with more load balancers and firewalls than you or I could afford alone. Wix runs updates automatically to mitigate any discovered vulnerabilities, which is another primary reason open-source-based sites are hacked…the developers would rather charge for the custom coding that puts the company it represents at risk – they truly do not understand that it is the company’s reputation at stake! We prefer to build you something with stunning user experience that you CAN control, with security and back up that will grow with you as your needs evolve in the future.
When Wix runs an update, their editor may go off-line but everything is usually back up and running very quickly and your site is not affected. When WordPress runs an update, sites can go completely down and sometimes diagnostic checks are required to get the site back up and running. Even when the problem is identified, a solution must then be found which can take even more time. Efficiency is everything when building, launching and maintaining a site. Wix just does it better.
We pride ourselves as Wix partners and have created 50+ website with Wix.
If you are interested in building a website that you can manage and edit, this is our process:
We never begin a design project without first going through our Diagnostics Process. This process helps us collect valuable information about you and learn about your visual style preferences so we can approach the design process with these elements in mind. This allows us to make informed decisions about your project's visual design so we can get the aesthetics on the right track before you even see it.
OUR DIAGNOSTICS PROCESS INCLUDES:
- Reviewing other sites, your like and dislikes
- Discussing function meaningful to your brand's identity
- Determining colors that are pleasing to the eye but also speak to your brand's message... and much more
As we move forward, we analyze and use the information collected during the diagnostics process to continue to bring your brand's identity online.
We are meticulous in our approach to design and ensure that the creative approach has been defined in accordance with your brand’s voice and audience. We provide a clean layout to take visitors on a journey through your work and services.
The overall complete final design of your website and creative about pages, including:
-Creative execution that adheres to your web design diagnostics
-Custom icon/graphics for any core services to display on the homepage or anywhere else.
-Design that is clean, clear, scales down legibly, concise and adheres to the elements and principles of design
-Imagery that supports the brand and uses the brand’s color palette
-Creative about pages
-Blog setup and branding for posting consistently Our websites also include User Experience testing for 2 months after the site is launched. We will be on retainer to assist you as users provide feedback. Most agencies provide this in the beginning and it could cost $30k, but we find value in waiting until search is happening and actual clients say they couldn't find something. We make moves and adjustments during that two month time to support all types of searchers. Refine and Define - people are lazy and we have to continue to make it easier and streamlined.
Website design is a process and no website is truly ever complete with no edits needed. If you launch your website and never make changes - google only indexes you once and has no reason to come back again. "Give them a reason to come back" - Hibiscus