A New Web Design & Development Process

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, efficiency and scalability in web design and development are critical to maintaining a competitive edge. As the Director of Digital Marketing at Specialty Dental Brands, I recognized that our existing web development process—taking 90 days to complete a single website—was unsustainable for our growth goals. To address this, I spearheaded a transformative initiative to reduce the time frame for designing and developing websites from 90 days to 45 days, a 50% reduction, while simultaneously enhancing the quality and flexibility of our web designs.

Enhanced Web Design & Development

• 50% Time Reductions

• 100% Flexibility

Challenges and Objectives:

Our previous process involved custom-developed themes and designs, which, while tailored, were time-consuming and resource-intensive. Each new website required extensive development work, which not only extended project timelines but also necessitated a larger team of developers and designers, driving up costs.

The goal was clear: to streamline our process, reduce the time to market, and lower the resource requirements, all without compromising the unique branding and high standards expected of our websites.

Solution: Implementing Bricks Website Builder:

After extensive research and consultations with industry colleagues, I identified Bricks Builder as the optimal solution for our WordPress sites. Bricks Builder offered the flexibility and customization capabilities we needed while drastically simplifying the development process. Unlike traditional custom themes, Bricks allowed us to create a master theme that could be easily adapted to different designs, ensuring that each site retained its unique identity without looking like a cookie-cutter template.

This new process also allowed Ben Molini, my website designer to become a developer and meticulously build websites to be responsive for various devices and browsers and guarantee consistent functionality. He was able to create responsive techniques such as adaptive navigation menus and scalable content to ensure that regardless of the brand, the site is engaging and professional.

The implementation of Bricks Builder had several key advantages:

Speed and Efficiency: Bricks Builder’s intuitive interface and pre-built modules enabled our team to build websites in half the time previously required. The clean, optimized code generated by Bricks Builder also ensured that our sites were fast-loading, enhancing the user experience and SEO performance.

Resource Optimization: By moving away from custom-developed themes, we were able to reduce the number of personnel required to launch a new website. This streamlined approach allowed us to do more with less, cutting down on labor costs and project complexity.

Design Flexibility: The flexibility offered by Bricks Builder ensured that our designers could implement custom brands and creative vision without any limitations, preserving the distinctiveness of each website. This balance between efficiency and creativity was crucial to maintaining the high standards our digital marketing department is known for.

Scalability and Consistency: With the new process, scaling our web development efforts became significantly easier. We could now launch multiple websites concurrently without the bottlenecks associated with custom development. Moreover, the consistency in design elements ensured a cohesive brand presence across all our sites.

Implementation and Results:

The process of transitioning to Bricks Builder was executed with precision. Within one month, I secured buy-in from key stakeholders, including our design and development teams, as well as upper management. We conducted thorough training sessions to ensure that everyone was proficient with the new builder, and within three months, we successfully launched our first website using the Bricks platform.

To ensure the websites were accessible on all devices, my amazing designer was able to implement a fully responsive design. By using fluid grids, flexible images, and media queries, he could tailor the layout to adjust seamlessly from desktops to smartphones, maintaining a user-friendly experience across screen sizes.

The results were nothing short of transformative:

Time Reduction: The average time to design and develop a website was reduced from 90 days to 45 days, representing a 50% increase in efficiency.

Cost Savings: The streamlined process and reduced personnel requirements led to significant cost savings, allowing us to allocate resources more effectively across other strategic initiatives.

Increased Output: The new process enabled us to launch more websites in a shorter time frame, supporting our growth objectives and enhancing our online presence.

Improved Quality: Despite the accelerated timeline, the quality of our websites improved, with faster load times and enhanced user experience, thanks to the clean code and optimized performance of the Bricks Builder.

Conclusion:

The shift to Bricks Builder has been a game-changer for my team. By cutting the development time in half and reducing the resources needed for each project, we have not only saved time and money but also positioned ourselves to scale rapidly as our business continues to grow. The success of this initiative underscores the importance of continuous innovation and process optimization in digital marketing. As we move forward, the new web development process will remain a cornerstone of our strategy, enabling us to deliver high-quality, custom-branded websites that meet the needs of our expanding network of businesses.