Every website design project is different.
Our Web Project Managers work with you to guide you along the way to getting your new website up and running... from deciding on a theme design to coordinating the launch, and everything in between.
Timeline Expectations
All timelines are estimated and will vary based on when content is received. Providing content to GrowthZone before deadlines will significantly reduce the project duration, and any missed benchmarks or last-minute requests may delay the project.
If you have hard internal deadlines or if you encounter significant delays that affect your ability to meet our milestone deadlines or stay in touch with your Web Project Manager, we ask that you please notify your Project Manager immediately so that your project expectations can be adjusted accordingly.
Our Process
Your Web Project Manager will help you determine the best project plan to fit your needs, but for most associations it works well to split our web design into similar focused phases of implementation for each project.
Discovery
As soon as you sign up for a GrowthZone CMS website, the Discovery begins! Our team will gather basic information about your organization, branding, and primary goals.
Key Action Items
- You will need to complete a Success Plan form that your assigned Project Manager will provide to you to kick off your project.
Once the Success Plan is received, further details will be provided including your timeline and expectations of the overall process.
To get the website started, we will help set the styling defaults and get a live test site created to reference throughout the rest of the project as updates are being made. The base theme choice is the only piece that cannot be replaced without starting a new project, but all of the text, images, backgrounds, and colors that you see in a theme layout are editable.
Key Action Items
- Select a base design from our gallery of website Themes
- Provide us your logo, colors, social media URLs, and text for Home Page.
Your Web Project Manager will begin setting up an initial test site based on your Success Plan and any additional details from initial Discovery.
Initial Build
Home Page Completion
Once the initial test site is created, we can begin adding content to the new home page and setting up the menu. All home page and menu items can be edited later as needed, even after your site has launched!
Key Action Items
- Provide page outline or sitemap navigation of your website (items in the main menu, dropdown items, etc.). Download an Example Sitemap spreadsheet »
- Provide photos, text, and additional miscellaneous home page items.
Your Web Project Manager will provide the link to your live test site to review content that has been added.
Based on the web design package you have purchased, GrowthZone will complete the build-out of a predetermined number of content pages (such as the About Us page and the Member Benefits page) before you start building additional pages on your own. Any module pages will be automatically filled for you by the database and are excluded from the pages of your choice (ex. Directory, Member Application, Contact Form, Events Calendar, etc.).
Key Action Items
- Provide content for the chosen internal content pages.
- Review training videos and begin editing test site.
Once our team has finished the pages from your sitemap that you would like us to complete for you, then you will be able to add additional pages and content when you start using the CMS. Your Web Project Manager will provide instructions for how to begin editing the test site.
Adding Content
Launch
When you have finished making any necessary initial edits or content additions and feel comfortable with the new CMS tools, we can schedule the website launch. Launch scheduling is subject to availability and reserved on a first come, first served basis, so please let us know as early as possible in advance of when you would like to launch.
Key Action Items
- Provide at least one week notice of desired launch date.
- Determine who will manage domain/DNS updates to point your domain to the new site.
- If you choose to provide us with access to your domain, we can manage the necessary updates for you.
- If your organization or IT provider will be managing your domain, we can provide the new IP address and launch instructions.
Our team will complete our essential pre-launch testing in the days leading up to your scheduled launch, and our launch specialist will guide you through the launch process to make sure everything is live and working as expected.