The Framework to Fast Website Builds
When it came time to build Butterfly Media’s new website – I have to tell you – I wanted to run for the hills! Websites feel like climbing Everest – don’t they? They feel like running a marathon you didn’t sign up for and that you are no way match fit for. Couple this feeling with the fact that I had just built two landing pages – literally from scratch in the past two weeks – and completed 2 massive website builds in the early part of this year – I can tell you – I was just about at my limit.
Why are you building websites – I hear you ask? Aren’t you a Social Media person?
Yes! I am a Social Media Marketer and Facebook Ads Specialist – and to be those things I have built up an extensive knowledge around the digital landscape – including building my own websites since 2018. My first site was on Wix – and I have gone on to build both my own and some for clients across Go Daddy, Squarespace and other local builders.
In that time I have learned a thing or two about breaking down a site build – so that I could manage it – and so that I could tell when it was “done”. I thought I would share with you the amazing journey Butterfly Media went through to build out our part of the internet and offer some tips on how you can build out your own!
The Work – What do you need from your Website?
Building a website “for the sake of it” is ok – and will go towards creating the right conversation for your business – but giving your website a purpose will greatly enhance not only the result – but your buy-in to undertake the project and work through the stages it needs.
For me, Butterfly Media’s website needed to be a firm foundation on which I could build on as the company grows. I needed it to be robust enough to handle and plugins and links I wanted to add to it down the track, but I also wanted it to represent the brand – but more importantly – be a place that potential clients wanted to spend time with. I wanted it to give the same feeling you would receive when working with us.
For that I needed a process – or a map – something I could lean into so that I knew where I was as the project progressed.
The Process – My Framework for Building Websites
Building a site can feel like starting in a maze and literally going around in circles. Its easy to get lost on building out a brilliant home page and running out of steam for the products page or about page. Setting the framework up from the start is imperative for keeping on track.
Here is a snip of my elaborate website framework!
I now knew what I was building and where I should focus my attention. The site needed to have the right tone, the right images, the right words, the right pages – and it also needed to be something I could build now – and come back to later.
With a clear idea of the purpose of the site – I did something I have never done before … I brought in help!!!!
The People – Teams Make Dreams Happen
I knew I wanted a copywriter and I also wanted someone else to help me build the site. And I was lucky enough to have two talented and passionate people in their field – who took this build to a whole other level!
First step was to get the words. I needed a writer – and I turned to Julia Greacen from Fire & Fly who I had worked with previously. Julia said yes – and so the adventure began. Because she is passionate, talented and wants the absolute best result for her clients – Julia went about finding out what my clients sounded like. What they wanted. What they were worried about – and best of all – she got their tone, their words – their phrases. Julia created practical surveys for me to give to business coaches who had kindly agreed to share their insights with me about a day in their lives.
Julie then spent 5 days creating the main pages for the site – and continually blew me away with each draft she sent through. She nailed it! She nailed my offer, the company’s essence – and she also intrinsically understood our clients. She married both worlds into a perfect storm of copy that spans most of the site.
Once I had the words – it was then time to build the site. I have worked with Clinton from Digital Guides for a number of years and was over the moon when he had time to help me with a WordPress build (a platform I struggled with in the past). Clinton has a way with websites that leaves his clients glowing with happiness. His attention to design and detail and his passion for creating – not just good looking sites – but sites that sell – sites that work is exemplary.
Clinton ran with the copy I gave him, and began to build out the site around the framework I had created. Laying the groundwork for a site is a task – with a lot of consideration and playing around to get elements into the design, and to start to bring the whole thing into a cohesive and agreeable space.
Clinton would send across a draft for me to look at and I would send back the amendments or anything that just wasn’t quite right. One of the hardest things for website builds is to get someone else’s idea down onto the internet – and Clinton not only read my mind – but completely blew it!
The Hiccups – Why you should allocate time for the unexpected.
I learned many years ago about the miscellaneous 20% rule – things take 20% longer and cost 20% more. I am lucky to say that in this case we obliterated the 20% rule and kept on time and on budget. The whole website build took 60 days from start to finish – a timeline we had worked towards. But there are hiccups – there always are – and it would be remiss of me if I didn’t point them out!
We had photo resizing issues, linking up to new programs and plugins that had conniptions. There were optimising for iPad and phone issues and links that backlinks that went to all sorts of places. Just when we thought it was finished there was just that other thing to fix!
The small bugs at the end are the hardest – because you think you are done – and there is just one more thing to take care of!
The Finishing Touches – The Home Straight
After stepping away from the site for a couple of days and coming back with fresh eyes – it was time to put the finishing touches on the site and get it ready for launch.
We came in and put an offer banner along the top – sharing our most important product at this time. We made sure the blogs were all set and ready for reading. We made sure all the links when to where they should and that all the images were the right size and cohesive. We sent the site to a couple of friends who could run their eye across it to tell us what we may need to fix.
And then we were ready!
The End Result – Why your Website is never finished – and that’s a good thing.
I designed this site to be ready to go at this time in the life of Butterfly Media. The business is growing and evolving – as is yours and its this reason that the website will never be finished. We will add new products as they become available, new ways to share what we do via surveys and questionnaires and videos and we will update our blog space weekly with inspiration and assistance on how coaches can get the most out of the internet for their business.
The Butterfly Media website has just begun – and I invite you to take a look around, sign up to our email list and book a call with me like no other.
If you would like to catch up with Julia at Fire & Fly – click the link HERE to check out some of her amazing work.
If you would like to catch up with Clinton from Digital Guides – click the link HERE to check out some of his amazing work.
If you would like to learn more about Facebook Ads – check out our blog on
Top 5 Tips to Generate Leads with Facebook Ads
