Why Work with WDS?
WDS has a full-service team of experts who are passionate about making great websites. We provide a comprehensive set of services including website design, development, project management, information architecture, and technical support.
Project Management
Keeping projects on time, on track, and within budget is a big deal. WDS project managers work with stakeholders and teams in each stage of the process, from discovery to completion.
Content Strategy
Planning your website's content is an important step in our web development process. WDS content strategists will conduct an inventory and audit of your content, help you understand your audience, work closely with you on your site's information architecture, identify content structures, and can also assist with content migrations.
Web Design & Theming
Our web designers are both front end themers and user experience designers, so they know how to visualize your design ideas and approach your design from a user-first perspective. Web Designers create wireframes, mockups and code sites to deliver a modern website that looks great on all devices, has good user experience and is accessible.
Web Development
Our web developers can customize and extend our Drupal platform to meet your specific needs and the processes you have in place. Web Developers build custom content types, views, and workflows that will support comprehensive content structures and that are accessible, usable and secure.
User Research & Usability Testing
Knowing exactly what your users want and need is effective in creating a successful website. Our content strategist will help you understand your audiences through user research and usability testing. Content strategists will help you create user profiles, surveys, and questionnaires, test your information architecture and wireframes and report user research findings into clear recommendations.
Training & Support
Having a new website on a new platform can be intimidating. No matter how user-friendly or intuitive your website is, WDS will provide training, documentation/user guides, and support to help with your website transition.
Drupal Vendor Consulting
WDS can work with you as an internal resource to provide guidance and technical advice if you are planning to hire an external vendor for a website project.
Our Process
No matter what kind of site you need, WDS is here to help guide you step by step.
1. Discovery
We begin with a conversation about your needs and goals. We help you determine and refine the goals of your website and the target audience. We also give you an overview of the content management systems and available modules. We prepare a project agreement which includes a cost estimate. Once the agreement signed, your project can begin.
2. Planning
Key project stakeholders attend a working session to develop your site's Information Architecture (IA). This step serves several purposes: it lays out the primary structure of the site's content and navigation, lets us define the technical requirements, and tells you how much work is needed on your part to create the new site. We create wireframes, so you can walk through your website before the design is applied.
3. Design
Our design staff creates a design based on your needs and style preferences. This includes 'look and feel,' colors, fonts, and iconography.
4. Development and Implementation
Once you sign off on the design, we implement it into the content management system, blog system, or mobile framework. We also implement modules you have requested. If you have not already started, you can begin entering content.
5. Testing & Delivery
During this step we test in various browsers, review that the websites meet University requirements, and move the site from a development area to a live production server.
6. Maintenance and Stewardship
Once the site is live, you maintain the content, and we'll take care of the system and servers.