{"id":27023,"date":"2024-09-24T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T12:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hingemarketing.com\/?p=27023"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T16:04:12","slug":"a-website-design-process-that-works-how-to-get-the-professional-services-website-you-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hingemarketing.com\/blog\/story\/a-website-design-process-that-works-how-to-get-the-professional-services-website-you-want","title":{"rendered":"A Website Design Process that Works: How to Get the Professional Services Website You Want"},"content":{"rendered":"

A website is perhaps a professional services firm\u2019s most valuable and visible<\/em> marketing asset. When you deploy a website that clearly lays out your value proposition and generates high-quality leads month after month, you can dramatically improve your firm\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n

Creating a high-impact, lead-generating site may seem like a daunting task. But you need only three things to bring it to fruition:<\/p>\n

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  1. The support of your firm’s leadership<\/li>\n
  2. A talented team to carry it out<\/li>\n
  3. A well-conceived website design process<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In this post, we\u2019re going to focus on the last of these requirements. The first, leadership support, if it doesn\u2019t already exist, can be influenced with the right arguments, strategy<\/a> and evidence<\/a>. The second, you can hire. The third binds the first two together and drives the process forward.<\/p>\n

    If you are about to embark on a web redesign<\/a> journey, the road ahead is bound to have a few bumps and potholes \u2014 a modern high-performance website<\/a> can be very complex, after all. But with the right process in place, and a capable team to guide you through it, you can avoid the pitfalls and misadventures that plague so many web projects. In this post, we\u2019ll lay out a process that we\u2019ve refined over more than a decade to deliver the website you\u2019ve always wanted, without the angst. And along the way, we\u2019ll share some of the hard lessons we\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n

    Informed by research and validated by years of experience and analytics, this is a process that works.<\/p>\n

    Who Should Read this Post?<\/h2>\n

    This post is for people involved in the planning or execution of a new professional services website, especially the marketers and stakeholders responsible for seeing it through. In addition, it\u2019s for anyone who wants to demystify the website design process and start off on the right foot.<\/p>\n

    Why Professional Services Websites Are Different<\/h2>\n

    There are many website design processes, spanning many different business configurations\u2014content-driven, B2C, B2B, and web apps. What is different about professional services websites?<\/p>\n

    With professional services, there\u2019s a fundamental need to convey credibility. Companies buy services from experts they trust. Even strong referrals are not always enough<\/a> to get you in the door. Our research shows that buyers almost always check out your website before taking the next step in the sales process<\/a>, and they will readily discard a referral if they aren\u2019t impressed by what they find. Your prospects know they are buying complex service offerings\u2014big-ticket items that come with considerable risk. These sales are the complete opposite of the types of impulse purchases you find in the B2C (and sometimes B2B) world.<\/p>\n

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    See also: Website Design and Development for the professional services<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Since the professional service sales cycle can take a long time\u2014often months or even years\u2014many potential buyers encounter your firm long before they are ready to buy. So your website needs to address prospects at every stage of the buying process<\/a>, from initial discovery to imminent sale. In between, a lot of nurturing goes on.<\/p>\n

    That being said, it is important to address different visitors’ needs and expectations, while supporting a unified, firm-wide brand message<\/a>. For example, you\u2019ll often find that each service area needs a message tailored to suit a different audience or problem. At the same time, you want to be sure anyone visiting different pages of your site come away with a consistent impression of who you are and what makes you unique.<\/p>\n