Updating Your Web Site Is Easier (And More Cost Effective) Than You Might Think: Shapiro & McMullen Case Study

March 20, 2011 / in Portfolio / by Mic Johnson

Recently Jason was contacted by Tony Shapiro, owner and Partner at Shapiro & McMullen, P.A., a law firm in Leawood, KS. Tony, like many business owners today, was interested in upgrading his web site.

He had a bid from another company, but was referred to Blue Gurus by a friend so he wanted to hear what we had to offer. He had a budget in mind and wanted to get it done sooner rather than later. So how did it turn out?

In THREE weeks, Blue Gurus created a brand new web site for Shapiro & McMullen, P.A. and came in $500 UNDER budget!

We understand that taking the time (and spending the money) on a new web site can be a daunting task for business owners that are busy spending hours every day doing what they do…running their business. The good news is it’s not as hard as you think nor does it have to cost you an arm and a leg.

Take a look at the simple steps below to see how you can quickly go from thinking about getting a new web site to having a new web site you can be proud of and that represents the brand and personality of your business.

Blue Gurus’ Web Site Process (generally speaking, of course!)

1. You contact us and provide a high level understanding of why you are wanting a new web site and what features you are wanting. This also gives us a chance to look at your existing web site (if you have one) and find areas where improvements are needed.

2. We talk to you about our process, which includes having us ON SITE (this benefit is NOT the norm, btw) at your place of business once a week, in 4 hour blocks of time, for somewhere generally between 3-5 weeks depending on the scope of the project.

3. We provide a contract that gives you a fair and reasonable estimate of time and cost.

4. You return the signed contract and we work with you (or the person you designate) to schedule all of the time to do the work.

5. At the first meeting, we spend the first hour talking about the site map (i.e. what sections you want to include on the new web site: About Us, Services, Contact Us, etc.) and how the rest of the process will go. Additionally, Jason works with you to pick a theme in WordPress that best matches the look, feel and functionality you are looking for. He also sets up the hosting and begins doing the technical “heavy lifting” that goes into creating the new web site.

6. At the same time, I work with you (or the person you designate) on content. This includes you providing pictures, text for each page, bios for employees, links to include, etc. Basically whatever you want to appear within the framework of the site, you provide to me and I will make sure it gets in there. I can also help create or edit content, however this obviously adds to the cost of the project.

(OK, THIS PIECE IS REALLY IMPORTANT, SO PAY ATTENTION!  The content piece is CRITICAL to our ability to stay on time and on, or below, budget. On the Shapiro & McMullen project, we worked with Office Manager Ashley Watson, who was fabulous and on the ball every step of the way. When we asked her for content, she got it to us. When we needed her opinion, she gave it to us. When we had questions for her, she was always available and provided great input. Without her executing near flawlessly on behalf of Shapiro & McMullen, the process would have taken longer and wouldn’t have come in under budget. The “content person” is the client’s most critical role on any new web site project.)

7. Once you have provided me with all of the necessary content, I input it into the site that Jason created. Once all content is entered into the sites, Jason “flips the magic switch” and the new site will be live in 24 hours or less!

As a reminder, this is an honest high level overview of how our process works. There are always little things that come up along the way, but we diligently work through them together.

If you are thinking about getting off the fence and upgrading your web site, contact us today. We’d love to help get this checked off of your TO DO LIST once and for all!