The Drum Roll Method

What is the Drum Roll Method?

The Drum Roll Method was developed to first gain clarity and insights, document them, and then use them to build a website that delivers.

Discovery
↓
Direction
↓
Design
↓
Structure
↓
Build
↓
Launch

We used the Drum Roll Method to create this website. The deliverables you see below were those used to actually define and build it.

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Why This Method Exists
(Philosophy)

A marble sculpture of "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin. This universally recognized expression of deep thought has become the iconic symbol of thinking and philosophy.

  • Most websites start with design. They can be very pretty, but they will not be based on a thorough understanding of your business. And they may not turn out to be what you had in mind.

  • We start with understanding. Our early phases will focus on getting an understanding of what your business is, what its strengths are, and what your visitors will be looking for.

  • Various studies say that you only have a few seconds, as little as 14 seconds, to get a viewer’s attention and a reason to read further. It’s not very long and then they lose interest and move on. 

  • When a website fails, it is usually not because it is poorly designed.  It is because the website does not answer the visitor’s primary questions right up front.  And you have to answer those questions in just a few seconds or they will likely just exit and move on. They want to know:

    • Who are you?

    • What do you do?

    • Why do I care?

    • What do you want me to do next?

  • Discovery creates clarity. Clarity means that everyone, most importantly your visitors, knows who you are and why they should care.

  • Design communicates that clarity.

  • Build brings it to life and produces a website to accomplish what you are looking for.

Phase 1 - Discovery

  • Understand the business – a first discovery conversation to meet personally and get to know each other a bit, and to outline what you can expect each step of the way.  We will work together with you to draw out your thoughts about who you are and what you want to accomplish.

  • Audience – We must think about your audience, your site visitors.  After all, they are the people we’re trying to get our message to.

  • Goals – What do you want to get out of this process?  If you don’t know how to express it, no worries.  We will help you work through it.

  • Problems - Any problems you may want to be sure of getting addressed.

  • Deliverable - Discovery Summary, a written document with the results of the discovery phase.  It will become the foundation of the next phases of the project.

A printed document titled "Drum Roll Launch" with a subtitle "Discovery Summary for The Drum Roll Launch Company, LLC." , lying on top of multiple sheets of paper on a wooden table. The document contains headings and text about business discovery and website consulting.
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A mood board for the Drum Roll Launch Company, LLC, featuring images and color swatches categorized into tone, composition, detail, and contrast.

Phase 2 - Direction

  • Establish visual direction – Building on the results of the discovery phase, we will create a visual representation of what we have learned.

  • Mood – A visual expression of the mood you think expresses your business.  Words like Professional, Classic, Modern, Friendly and others will emerge as we work through it.

  • Personality – A further extension of the mood.  Together, they go to the question of what do you want your audience to feel when they see your website?

  • Deliverable: Mood Board – Still images of the mood and personality.  You will actually see your colors and typography emerging.

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Phase 3 - Design

  • Define exactly what visual cues will be used.

  • Colors

  • Typography

  • Branding elements – Logos, anything unique to your business.

  • Deliverable: Branding Specification – a written document documenting the exact colors, typography, and branding elements that will be used to build the website.  This will become the blueprint to build the final website.

A set of documents, including a branding specification for 'Drum Roll Launch' with details about fonts, color palette, and images, laid out on a wooden surface.

Phase 4 - Structure

  • A visual live representation of the major flows of your website.  It will focus heavily on the text to be used (you don’t have to be a great writer, we can help you with that), and how it flows from introduction to completion.

  • Site organization – Suggested pages, actual text for each page, actual colors and typography.

  • Messaging flow

  • Calls to action – What do you want your visitors to do once they land on your page?

  • Deliverable - an actual simple working version of your emerging website.

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A webpage with a beige background, featuring a header with the text 'Drum Roll Launch' and sections titled 'Method About Pricing FAQ Contact'. The main body contains a description of the Drum Roll Launch Company explaining their purpose, approach, and process, ending with the tagline 'In short, your website—done right.'
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Phase 5 - Build

  • Build the actual website

  • Build in Squarespace – A well established and reliable web hosting service.

  • Apply Imagery - Select and incorporate photos and imagery.

  • Basic SEO – Search Engine Optimization – making it more available to search engines like Google.

  • Testing – We will jointly test the end website to ensure that everything is “according to spec” and works flawlessly

  • Revisions - Reviewing the results together and tweaking things to finish it up..

Screenshot of a website homepage for 'Drum Roll Launch', featuring a small image of a notebook, a candle, a cup of coffee, and some dried flowers on a white surface, with text describing the company's purpose and method.
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Phase 6 - Launch

  • Final testing

  • Launch   . . . Drumroll . . . Launch the site publicly.

  • Ownership transfer - It’s yours.

  • Celebrate!

What Working Together Looks Like

  • We will work though the 6 Phases sequentially.  At the end of each phase, there will be a review.  Minor revisions will be accommodated, until you are ready to accept the result.

  • After your acceptance of each phase from 1 - 5,  20% of the project total will be due ($500 on a $2500 project)

  • Phase 6 is performed at no additional charge. It’s yours.

  • If at the end of each phase, we will agree on the next phase.  You are under no obligation to continue if you do not wish to.

  • No long-term contract – The project will be exactly these 6 Phases.  You will not be required to make any ongoing payments unless you ask us to do additional projects for you.

  • Regular communication – We will be regularly communicating with you by telephone, video meeting, and email.  You will always be up to date with what we are doing.

  • Collaboration throughout - we will work together all along the way to review options, pros and cons, questions, everything that may come up.

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Why it Works

  • Strategy before design – Like building a house, you wouldn’t start the carpenters before you have a blueprint with a clear definition of what is to be built.

  • Every phase builds on the previous one.  Revisions and adjustments can be made at each phase.

  • Fewer surprises – we will both know why each phase turned out looking like it does.  We’ve been building toward it each step of the way.

  • Better decisions – knowing how we got to each phase informs us on what to do next, and what not to do.

  • Your website reflects the business, not just a template

Call or Write today for a no obligation chat to answer any questions you may still have.

Contact us - let's talk about it.