From the first call to launch: how we work

By Antony Addy and Julien Bourgois 2 min read

The steps to building your website with The Vitrine: what we ask of you, what we do, and when you see the result.

The Auto-école La Tour de Mare website, built by The Vitrine · See the case study

Having a website made can feel vague: how many meetings, who writes the words, when do you get to see something? Here’s how it works with us, step by step. From start to finish, you talk to the person building your site, Antony or Julien, with no one in between.

1. The first conversation

It all starts with a conversation: a call, a WhatsApp message, or our project questionnaire, which takes a few minutes. We want to understand:

  • what you do, and who for;
  • how your customers find you and get in touch today;
  • what the website should get them to do: call, book, order, ask for a quote, join;
  • which language or languages it needs to speak.

You don’t need a written brief. If you already have a website, a Google listing or a Facebook page, show us: it’s a great starting point.

2. A clear proposal

From that conversation, we send you a proposal: the pages we plan, what goes on them, the timescale and the price. No jargon, and no surprises later. If something doesn’t suit you, we adjust it before we start.

3. Content: what we need from you

A website is made of words and pictures. Mostly, we ask you for raw material:

  • your practical details: hours, address, prices, services;
  • photos, even phone photos, of your place, your work, your team;
  • your logo, if you have one.

For the words, there’s no blank page: we write them from our conversations, then you read them through and change anything that doesn’t sound like you.

4. A first version, quickly

Thanks to our tools, AI among them, we can show you a first version online quickly, on a test address you can open on your phone. It’s far more telling than a mock-up: you see and use your future website.

You tell us what works, what’s missing and what you don’t like. We adjust, and repeat until it’s right.

5. Checks before launch

Before the site opens to the public, we check the things you don’t see:

  • how it looks on phones, tablets and computers;
  • how fast it loads;
  • links, call buttons and forms;
  • titles and descriptions for Google, translations and legal pages.

6. Launch

The site goes live on your domain name (your address, for example your-business.com). If you don’t have one yet, we help you choose it. We register the site with Google, and point your Google listing and social media to the new address.

7. After launch

A website keeps changing: a new menu, summer hours, a new service. Before launch, we agree together how those updates will be handled, so you always know who to ask. And since you already know the person who built your site, a message is all it takes.

What it looks like when it’s done

The Auto-école La Tour de Mare site shows every course with its price; Plan B Concept speaks English and French to overseas owners; So Good Diner makes you hungry from the first line. Three trades, three different websites, the same method.

Ready to start? Start your project in a few minutes, or ask us a question.

Sites mentioned in this article