Epic Web Solutions Lands on Clutch’s Recent Announcement

Our team is a strong group committed to providing the best web services to our clients. We’ve got well-known clients like Palo Verde or AZ Gastroenterology. We hear from these clients all the time that we’ve done great work for them. That all is great but as a digital agency, we know it’s important to be recognized by industry organizations and business research firms. That’s why we list on Clutch where clients can leave us reviews and we get recognized for the work we do through Clutch’s annual announcements.

We’ve collected one review on Clutch, and since it’s a 5/5 star review, we’re able to be included in their recent announcement!

Clutch recently included us as a top web design company for the state of Arizona. We’re so happy that our work with local small/medium size businesses has got us included in this announcement.

We’re also included on Clutch’s sister website The Manifest, as a top Phoenix area PPC agency!

Clutch is also rolling out their new website, Visual Objects, that will list web design companies and display the firm’s portfolio items alongside their client feedback.

Next year, we’ll work to collect more Clutch reviews and we can’t wait to see where 2019 takes us both in terms of our presence on Clutch and helping new businesses with their online presences.

Epic Web Solutions Recognized By Clutch As One Of The Top Web Designers In Phoenix

clutch image1At Epic Web Solutions, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of technology, providing our clients with cutting-edge website design, development and internet marketing. Our focus on using proven techniques, along with innovative strategies, has allowed us to create a large, loyal and very satisfied customer-base.  We know that there are a lot of other website design and development businesses out there, or other companies that claim to be experts in SEO, but many are not capable of delivering on their promises or provide short-term solutions that are not capable of standing the test of time.  Epic Web Solutions is a lean and efficient web company, maintaining a focus on our client’s needs at all times.  The bottom line is, we deliver on our promises and our clients are more than satisfied with results.  At Epic Web Solutions, we are proud to be included on Clutch, a website dedicated to connecting customers with leading, reputable IT services that deliver results for their clients.

Clutch utilizes an innovative research process that melds the best of traditional business-to-business research along with honest customer reviews.  Clutch is used internationally to connect businesses and customers and it ensures that the businesses have a proven ability to deliver.  Clutch ensures an ability to deliver by weighing three factors:

  1. References and Reviews
    • As the most heavily-weighted component, honest client feedback is collected and assessed (including things like project size, project complexity, quality of completion, cost, schedule, and willingness to refer/recommend the business)
  2. Clients and Experience
    • Clutch also analyzes a company’s clients as a whole to determine if the firm has delivered to not just small clients but global brands. Clutch also analyzes the depth of experience an IT company has as well as their ability to deliver on complex projects while still creating value.  Additionally, does the IT company not only perform but actually align its experience with its stated services strategy and area of focus.
  3. Market Presence
    • Finally, when analyzing marketing presence, it must be determined if a company presents information that is clear and professional and is their own website consistent and high-quality, complete with a portfolio. Additionally, does an IT firm develop a strong reputation and authority within their chosen sector?  Has the IT company received any industry recognition or awards.  And lastly, does the company have a social media presence that reinforces their brand position and domain authority?

By carefully considering and weighing all of these different aspects, Clutch provides an accurate and immensely useful index of IT firms and website development businesses to clients, providing peace of mind that these businesses can truly deliver.  At Epic Web Solutions, we are proud to be included on Clutch’s 2016 list of Top Phoenix Web Designers, and we look forward to providing many more clients with our top-tier, innovative services that deliver tangible results.

Technology-Driven Web Design & SEO

1f515ad3-9849-4e88-873c-6697105701c5A commitment to providing high-quality, personalized and technology-driven service.  That is what you get with Epic Web Solutions.  There are a lot of website design companies out there and many people claim to have the ability to help a client with their website design, digital marketing, and SEO needs but the reality is, many are not capable or qualified to deliver on their promises.  At Epic Web Solutions we focus on utilizing industry-leading technologies, the most current SEO strategies and digital marketing techniques and, with years of knowledge and experience, ensure client satisfaction at every stage of a project.

                At Epic Web Solutions we try to be as accurate as possible in the bidding process. We like to have an initial conversation with clients and get a list of exactly what they are looking for.  To help us best determine the scope of the project, and so that we can provide the most accurate bid, we discuss subjects like a custom vs.  template website design.  Custom designs take longer to accomplish and are thus more expensive but for those who want a truly unique site that sets their business apart custom is the best option.  Additionally, we like to ask clients if they will want to be able to edit the website themselves once the website is launched.  45fa18a1-2a06-4d33-81c1-e86aeeda1fe2If so, a WordPress site is ideal because it is very user-friendly.  We highly recommend that clients opt for responsive websites because they adapt to things like the user’s screen size, orientation and platform, making viewing and use much more enjoyable and efficient.  A well-designed website is a powerful marketing tool for clients so we highly recommend that a client chooses to make it responsive so that they can provide their customer with the best user experience.  If a client chooses to make their website responsive we factor that into the scope and bidding process.  Next we like to discuss content needs with our clients.  We need to get an idea of how many pages of content will be needed for the website and if our clients will need assistance in writing the content.  Also, we need to know what kind of website our client is interested in – is it e-commerce, informational or an application?  Each additional feature/functionality need will impact the scope of the project and influence our bid.  While these questions may sound overwhelming and some of these items may change during the process of the project, by discussing it up front we are able to provide the most accurate, competitive bid possible and begin our effort of providing the best service available to our clients.

3c813c56-e8f7-45ff-b08b-6569704ea1b5Once our bid has been accepted, we like to jump right into a project with our clients.  It is important to us that we get to know each client on an individual and personal level which is why we have a kickoff meeting either by phone or in person.  We take great pride in the relationships we form with our clients and that begins with the kickoff meeting where we not only get to know a client’s unique business but their goals as a business and for their website as well.  At Epic Web Solutions, we have created a design questionnaire for clients to complete that helps clients narrow in on specific goals and helps to guide us in the design process.  Additionally, we research the competition but remain focused on defining our client’s brand so that our clients can be set apart from others within their industry. We work with clients to develop a project plan to ensure business goals are achieved while also implementing optimization strategies that help our clients have the competitive edge.
52649d8d-bdf7-45d9-9879-02dec5f5ef4fAfter the kickoff meeting we begin the design process.    At Epic Web Solutions we use a research-driven design approach.  We do not make assumptions in our design process, we use proven and innovative design techniques to ensure client satisfaction.  We give the completed questionnaire to our talented website designers who take all of the information, as well as meeting notes, and develop a homepage mockup based on what they are given. Once the homepage mockup is completed we send it to the client for review.  Here, and in every stage, we continue to communicate with clients so that we can actively work towards a mutual goal.  Our focus is to not only provide a fast, excellent website and unparalleled services but to help clients further define their brand and expand their customer base.  Our client’s brands are their identity, what their customers recognize, and their promise to customers about who they are – we help clients clarify their brand to their customers, create brand recognition that customers will know and keep returning to, and help our clients deliver on that promise to customers by extending their brand across all platforms.  While we use a research-driven design approach, we know that technology is constantly evolving and we ensure that clients stay on the leading edge of technology.  When designing a website for our client we carefully choose and construct website architecture, content, color, and typography to help best accentuate a client’s brand.  Our clean, responsive websites are consistent and compelling so that our clients are able to engage in a unique way with their customers. At Epic Web Solutions, we carefully create a high-impact design that is also seamlessly functional and outperforms the competition.

above-the-fold-top-heavy-algorithm-changeAs we work together in the design process and collaborate on each stage, we encourage clients to participate in the final outcome.  Revisions are a necessary part of the process and allow us to hone in on the best website design for their unique business.  As our client reviews the completed homepage mockup, and we progress through the completion of inner website pages, our client provides us with feedback on what they like or dislike.  We encourage clients to make either general or specific suggestions for changes that they would like to see made and we collaborate on appropriate revisions while remaining goal-focused. We communicate these revisions to our designer, who makes the updates.  We then send the revisions to the client and this process is repeated until the client is 100% happy with the design and signs off on it.  Once we have solidified the general style of the website the revisions tend to become less and the revision process moves along rapidly.  This stage of the process is incredibly important because we want to ensure that the design is exactly what our clients want, and changes are much easier to make on a design than they are on a coded website.

 

163137bf-12c6-4eb1-946b-f67eecbc642eOnce all designs have been approved by our clients, we then begin the coding process.  We give our website programmers the approved design files (PSDs), which they take and translate into code. The client has minimal involvement during this process, as we are simply taking the visual look that they are happy with and turning it into a functional website. We put the completed code onto our test server so the client can see and interact with their new site, instead of just looking at an image of it. This test site should look identical to the design that the client approved so it is a great opportunity to truly see the design come to life.

 

9ed8ba15-0468-4c4d-968e-0f36d68c7f48       During the design and coding process we may use what is known as Lorem Ipsum text, which is essentially placeholder content, until completed client-appropriate content is available.  If the client prefers, they can supply the content.  But, if the client would rather have Epic Web Solutions write client-specific content for the new website design, that service is available as well.  Our content writers are trained in SEO optimization techniques to help clients improve their organic SEO ranking.  Once content is available we fill in all of the blank pages and remove any Lorem Ipsum text from the test site.  During this process the website begins to really make the transition from a design into a finished product.  If we are remodeling an old website, we will start by pulling all of the old content from the site and putting it into the new design.  This gives us a pretty good baseline and the client can suggest any changes that need to be made. Any potential issues with formatting or layout are also addressed at this stage because client satisfaction is our top priority. SEO is not magic, it is a specific science that helps you improve your rank in search engine indexes.  It is incredibly important to carefully craft website content to ensure that it is SEO optimized so that our client’s maximize the impact and effect of their website.

 

HomeSmart Infographic At Epic Web Solutions, we take great pride in our pre and post-launch process.  Some website design companies will simply launch the website design, hand it over to the client, and that will be the end of interaction between the website designer and the client.  We believe in going above and beyond for our clients because client satisfaction is our priority.  During both the pre-launch and post-launch process we have a checklist that we go through to ensure optimized functionality, speed and performance.  We complete this checklist any time we launch a website.  We do this so that there is no need to constantly go back and fix issues after the site is live; we do not launch a website unless our client tells us to. This is much more involved than most of our competitors but it is just another step we take that we believe is one of the reasons we have such long-standing client relationships.

 

After a client’s website has been launched we do not disappear.  At Epic Web Solutions, our services go beyond launch into the post-launch process.  We leverage our expertise, along with monthly analytics and regular communication with clients to keep websites fresh, engaging and as always – a useful marketing tool so that our clients keep current customers happy and continue to attract new customers.  Our ongoing support even after a project is complete is a show of our commitment to our client and the pride we take in our work.

 

c775bb18-2ec2-40e9-bc2f-89b512104b8eWe are able to not only discuss these services with our existing clients and prospective clients, but provide them with proven results.  We have long-standing relationships with clients because we listen to what our clients want and make those goals our goals.  We do not make promises we cannot follow through on.  We carefully craft stylish, innovative, responsive websites and increase our clients organic SEO rankings through research-driven design that produces real results.  We keep open lines of communication with our clients so that we can collaboratively work towards ensuring each website is exactly what our clients want and we never launch until a site has been fully approved by our clients.  At Epic Web Solutions, we enjoy getting to know each client and pride ourselves on providing highly individualized service based on each client’s needs.  We serve all industries and all clients and simply put- our creative ideas perform and our success is measured by our results.  Let us use our digital strategy, focus on technology, creativity, and passion for what we do to provide a customized solution for your next website design.

Our Efficient & Effective Website Design Process

Website design is a constantly evolving term.  Five years ago I would tell you that a web designer is someone who can create a layout for a website and utilize brand guidelines to create the look and feel for a website.

Today, a website designer has to truly understand the functionality of the website that they are designing.  Website designers have to develop the interactivity and user experience of the site.  No longer does a website designer just design a layout, they are the brainchild of the overall functionality, user experience and have to understand how to direct the user through the website in an easy to use way that seems intuitive.
Website Design Scottsdale

At Epic Web Solutions, our design process takes a simple and effective approach to website design.  Although we encourage our clients to be in the driver seat, our experience and expertise is what guide the process along by setting priorities and the overall goal and purpose of the website.

It may sound simple, but the early discussions prior to the website design set the foundation for the entire design process.  We have to truly understand our clients’ products and/or services before we can begin the design.

We break out our design process into seven simple phases, they are below (see slideshare for more detail):

Phase 1: Initiate

Initiate the design process by sending our client a design questionnaire that will not only help our designer from a creative standpoint, but help our client to really think about all the elements that go along with a website.  This tool has been effective of the last several years because it encourages our clients to get involved and think of creative ways to use the website to send their message and promote their products and/or services.

Phase 2: Wireframe

Once our clients have completed the design questionnaire and have developed thoughts about what the purpose of the website is, we conduct a meeting that goes over the design questionnaire and begin to wireframe.  Each website we develop has a different purpose, and needs to be treated accordingly.  Wire framing helps the client and designer visualize the bones of the website.  This phase gets our client and the lead designer on the same page and develops a good starting point for design.

Phase 3: Initial Home Page Designs

Our designers will provide several home page concepts that are based on the business requirements, goal, purpose and other elements that the client has provided.  During this process our project manager will review the concepts at certain milestones to make sure that the requirements and overall functionality is on track with the company.

Phase 4: Revision Process

Once the home page design concepts are presented to our client, we set aside a time to meet and go over the elements of the website design and our designers explain the process and why they chose that direction.  During this review, our clients are able to interject and elaborate on concepts to help the designer with direction.  In many cases our clients like concepts from multiple designs.  At this point, the project manager and design team go over the request changes and determine the best way to incorporate the new information and feedback into the design, while maintaining the overall goal and purpose.

Phase 5: Final Home Page Revisions

After some back and forth with the home page concepts, we determine a final list of changes and wrap up the home page concept.  During this time, we go over functionality and how the user will interact with the website.  Once our client signs off on the design, we being to build out the sub page layouts.

Phase 6: Sub page Design

We have discovered that the most efficient way to complete the design process is to design the subpage after the home page has been approved.  This way we can carry the home page design and concept throughout the entire website in the appropriate way.  During this phase, we go through the same revision process.

Phase 7: Final Review

Once the home page and sub page have been finalized by our design team, we provide a final design review.  This meeting is to tighten and loose ends and ensure that the design meets all the brand and business requirements as well as conveys the message that our client is trying convey through their website.

Improving Your Website Accessibility

When designing a web site, the desire for accessibility is inherent. Despite this, most Arizona Web Design developers inadvertently overlook the need to make website accessible to the disabled. Web Design that is decidedly conscious of such needs can be extended to meet the needs of such users. The push for greater web site accessibility is becoming more and more main stream. Already, many major websites have improved their accessibility to those with disabilities, and are striving to do even more.

Clearly no one would intentionally exclude any person or group from accessing their public website. No one would consciously design exclusion into their website, but on many occasions this happens inadvertently. The goal of a website is to reach as many users as possible and provide them with information pertinent to your business or organization. Making your website highly accessible only heightens the reality of this goal. Highly accessible Arizona Web Design is not only beneficial to a greater number of users; it is beneficial to your interests as well.

Awareness of the need and opportunity for increased website accessibility is just the first step. Once you start considering this possibility more deeply, you may be concerned about the ability to make a highly accessible website that is also attractive and technologically savvy. Such concerns are unfounded. Expert Arizona Web Design specialists are masters of ingenuity and artistry on the web. Their jobs revolve around the need to approach tasks creativity. The challenge of heightened accessibility will simply be another feature of design for them to creatively overcome. Nearly all aspects of web design can be altered and improved to be highly accessible while also remaining cutting edge.

You may be surprised to find that Arizona Web Design that is accessible to those with disabilities is also more highly compatible with a number of hand-held devices. When highly accessible, your website will typically be more navigable and visible on these devices. The concessions necessary for improved accessibility tend to make web design more user-friendly for those accessing the web on smart phones, tablets, and the like. What’s more, highly accessible websites tend to attract more attention from major search engines as well. The features that make them more accessible also allow them to be more favorably indexed by these entities.

While you may be sufficiently motivate by the positively implications of creating a more highly accessible web design, you can be further induced by the possibility of unfavorable ramifications. To date, claims have been successfully filed against entities with a large web presence whose design was not accessible to the blind. Courts ruled in favor of the prosecutors, stating that this inaccessibility was in direct violation of law, specifically the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Increasing the accessibility of your website through thoughtful Arizona Web Design is not only considerate, it is beneficial to you as well. A minor investment in greater accessibility will improve your visibility on the web, allowing even more users to come in contact with your products and services. As this is directly in line with your goals and best interests, designing increased accessibility into your website is a true win-win situation.

Making Your Website Accessible To Those With Disabilities

In this day and age of political correctness, no one would think of excluding any group from accessing their website. Unfortunately, if you are not aware and conscious in your Pheonix Web Design, it may be inaccessible to persons with certain disabilities. Many of the world’s most prominent websites have made great strides in ensuring website accessibility to everyone, including those with disabilities. Thoughtful Pheonix Web Design can overcome inaccessibility issues.

Of course no one intends to be exclusive in their Pheonix Web Design. When it happens, it is far more a matter of innocent oversight. That said, the benefit in creating a website that is accessible to all is not just a matter of thoughtfulness. It is also in your best interest. You have a website because you want to put your business or non-profit on the map. You can access even more users by making your website truly accessible.

Once you become aware of the need for broadened website accessibility, you may worry about having to give in to unattractive Pheonix Web Design in order to meet the needs of all users. No need to worry. There is no reason accessible websites have to be unattractive. Talented Pheonix Web Design developers can use all their artistic talent and all the latest technology. While some of these aspects are not inherently accessible, they can be made to be. Good web designers are all about flexibility and possibility. They have to be to do their jobs well. Tweaking a website to make it accessible will just be an extension of the work they already do. Accessibility and attractiveness are not mutually exclusive.

One of the many benefits of a truly accessible site design is its compatibility with various hand-held devices. Navigation and appearance will both be improved on smart phones and tablets when your website is highly accessible. Even better, websites with higher accessibility are generally better indexed by the major search engines. This means improved accessibility will improve your visibility as well.

If you are not motivated enough to make necessary changes, it may inspire you to learn that there are potential negative consequences of not designing your website to be highly accessible. For instance, there have been class-action lawsuits filed against websites who are not accessible to the blind. Courts have ruled that having a website that is inaccessible to this group is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Beyond the possibly negative ramifications of having a less than perfectly accessible website, it is simply the right thing to do. It will pay off for your and for users. All you need is a talented web designer with a little creativity. A web designer with a passion for originality will be able to make needed changes without much headache. Highly accessible sites are more effective and reach the highest number of users.
By including accessibility to your list of web design goals, you can achieve the best web design outcomes. The effort, and possibly minor investment, will be in everyone’s best interest. Exposure to your business, products, or services will be increased, making it easier for you to achieve your goals. What’s more, you will enjoy the moral satisfaction of having considered the needs of all users.