Web design and development in Oregon

WordPress suits a team that publishes often and wants to edit most of the site itself. Its plugin selection gives you options for adding features, though someone needs to keep the software updated for security. Decide who will make those updates as well as who will publish the content.

A custom-coded site in Next.js suits a business that wants fast pages and a design without template limits. It also suits a team happy to ask a developer to make structural changes. For a small site you plan to run alone, a hosted builder such as Squarespace or Webflow is another option; you give up some control over code and speed, and moving away later can mean a rebuild.

The choice starts with your working habits. Think about who will publish, how often the site structure will change and who will maintain it. We learn how your team works before recommending WordPress or a custom Next.js build, so the editing and maintenance responsibilities are clear from the outset.

For a business open to the public, US guidance says the ADA covers the goods and services it offers on the web and points to WCAG as helpful guidance. We agree an accessibility target in the brief and set up a clear heading structure as part of the page build. The target gives you and the design team a shared basis for reviewing the site, with the latest WCAG version encouraged when choosing the criteria.

Bring what you have, and make a note of anything still to be prepared.

• Brand filesYour logo in vector format, colours and fonts, or a note that they still need creating.
• Account accessDomain, hosting, email, analytics and Search Console logins, or the name of the person who holds them.
• PhotosImages of your team, premises and finished work; arrange a photo shoot ahead if needed.
• A goalIdentify the enquiries you want and who handles each kind.
• Your prioritiesRank the services or products you want to feature.
• Site examplesBring examples you like and dislike, with a reason for each choice.

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  Choosing the platform first

  Decide who will update the site and how often, then use those needs to guide the choice.

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  Letting someone else register your accounts

  Hold the domain and hosting accounts in your business’s name and grant access to the people working on them.

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  Leaving real content until the end

  Use actual headings and paragraphs during design so their length is accounted for in the layouts.

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  Copying every old or competitor page

  Choose clear service pages that visitors can scan and your team can keep current.