Three steps to a healthy relationship
STRATEGY
2-4 weeks
- Personas
- User journey maps
- SMART goals & KPIs
- Website role
- Value proposition
The foundation of your new relationship
Successful websites have one purpose: Help users and customers solve their problems. The only way to create a successful website is to become an expert on your users and target groups.
The goal of the strategy phase is to develop a clear understanding of your users and how they navigate your website. We will gather information about your target groups from a variety of sources such as interviews with your existing customers or input from your teams like sales or customer service who have regular contact with your clients. Website data from your analytics tool will give you input on your existing users. All this data helps to create personas and user journey maps.
Next, we set SMART goals and KPIs for your website to stay accountable for the actions you will take in the following months. Your website’s role and value proposition also guide you through the process like a north star.
LAUNCH PAD
2-3 months
- Prioritized wishlist
- First version website
- Web analytics tool
Prioritize and launch quickly
The Launch Pad is the first version of your website. Your goal is to launch it as soon as possible with the top functionalities. While the website won’t be perfect, it will still be an improvement on your previous version.
In this step, you become an expert in prioritization. The key is to identify and focus on elements with the most impact. Being a prioritization expert will also help you with your continuous improvement cycles.
Once your must-have list is ready, your next step is the implementation process of wireframes, designs and development. And don’t forget the content step—content is one of the most underrated milestones with website launches.
You will also implement your analytics tool. It will gather website data as soon as your new website is live.
IMPROVEMENT
Every 4-6 weeks
- Updates and improvements
- New functionalities
Your new website routine
With your new website up and running, you will now collect data to plan your improvement cycles. The cycles comprise three steps: plan – develop – learn.
User data keeps you focused on your actual users to build a website that creates value for them (and not for your CEO).
Your development cycles will be a mixture of improvements and new functionalities from the wishlist you created during the strategy phase.
The difference between GDD and the “normal” website process
OLD
NEW
Your benefit
Launch and forget
Continously improving and learning
Longer lifetime equals higher value
Your website remains a viable tool for a long time since it’s created with continuous improvement in mind instead of a” launch-and-forget” approach.
Big upfront investment
Staggered investment while generating revenue
Return on investment counts
The GDD process generates results within a few months. Since your launch pad website is online quickly, you generate revenue while improving your website regularly.
Long-term project with high risks
Launch quickly (within 3 months)
Higher pace instead of 2-year plans
Long-term projects are risky and expensive. The GDD-approach cuts down the launch process from 12-24 months to 6 months maximum. This higher pace will help your company get results faster.
Assumptions from your company’s team
User-centric
Your users decide
We can’t stress this enough. You create your website solely for your users—not anyone else, even for your CEO.
The GDD-process continually finds how your website helps your customers based on real user data and not on assumptions or gut feelings
The difference between GDD and the “normal” website process
OLD
Launch and forget
NEW
Continously improving and learning
Your benefit
Longer lifetime equals higher value
Your website remains a viable tool for a long time since it’s created with continuous improvement in mind instead of a” launch-and-forget” approach.
OLD
Big upfront investment
NEW
Staggered investment while generating revenue
Your benefit
Return on investment counts
The GDD process generates results within a few months. Since your launch pad website is online quickly, you generate revenue while improving your website regularly.
OLD
Long-term project with high risks
NEW
Launch quickly (within 3 months)
Your benefit
Higher pace instead of 2-year plans
Long-term projects are risky and expensive. The GDD-approach cuts down the launch process from 12-24 months to 6 months maximum. This higher pace will help your company get results faster.
OLD
Assumptions from your company’s team
NEW
User-centric
Your benefit
Your users decide
We can’t stress this enough. You create your website solely for your users—not anyone else, even for your CEO.
The GDD-process continually finds how your website helps your customers based on real user data and not on assumptions or gut feelings
What the process is not
A way to save money.
Yes, the new website will be up and running quickly which won’t cost you a fortune compared to the old 100% approach. But your launch pad website is only the start of the process. It must improve and evolve which also requires budget investment. The big difference is that you gain results while you are improving.
A way to save time
A GDD website means starting a long-term commitment. It only delivers high-value results if you are willing to invest the time to improve it continuously. Your mindset must shift to someone who loves to gather data, analyze it and turn it into tasks for your improvement cycles. It gets easier over time, but be prepared for a relationship that takes time and will become part of your daily routine.
