Web design and website maintenance in Brisbane
Customers tend to look a business up online before they call, so the website is often the first conversation. Hello Portal offers web design and website maintenance: we design new sites for businesses and look after them once they're live.
This page suits a business that needs a new site, or has one that has gone stale and needs someone to take it on. If you want a printed brochure or a logo, this page won't cover it.
Web design for Brisbane businesses
A business website should say who you are, what you do and how to get in touch, and it should work as well on a phone as it does on a desktop. That's the starting point. After that it depends on what the site has to do and who it's for, so tell us both.
A site for a business that takes bookings has different jobs from a site that explains a service, and a site for a team of one isn't built like a site for fifty. Good design starts with those differences.
Website design for a new site or a refresh
Some businesses are starting from nothing. Others have a site that did its job years ago and now confuses people. Both are normal starting points, and the work is similar in the early stages: work out what visitors are trying to do, then build the pages around that.
Website design in this sense covers:
- how the pages are organised, and how a visitor moves between them
- the layout and look of each page
- the words on the page, so a visitor can tell quickly what's on offer
- how the site behaves on a phone, a tablet and a desktop
- a clear way for someone to get in touch
What a particular job includes is agreed in conversation. This list describes the field, and not a fixed list.
A website people find easy to use
Design isn't only how a site looks. It's whether a visitor finds what they came for and knows what to do next. Two Insights articles go into the detail.
What makes a business website easy to useAfter the scan: the page people land on
A few things get in the way of that more often than anything else: a menu with too many choices, a first screen that doesn't say what the business does, and a contact page buried three clicks deep. Fixing those three is a sensible place to start.
How a web design job runs
Each job differs, but most follow the same course.
- A conversation. What the business does, who the site is for, and what a visitor should be able to do there.
- A plan. The pages and the structure are talked through and agreed before design starts.
- Design. You see how the site will look and read, and say what you'd change.
- Build and review. The site is built, then checked on different devices. You look at it before it goes live.
- Launch, then care. The site goes live. After that, maintenance keeps it working.
Each job is quoted on request.
Website maintenance
Once a website is live, it keeps needing attention. Service details, contact details and software all drift out of date if nobody is watching. Nobody throws a launch party for maintenance, but it's what keeps a site working. Hello Portal offers that ongoing care alongside web design.
In general terms, maintenance covers keeping the content correct, keeping the software the site runs on up to date, and checking that the things visitors rely on still work, such as the contact form. A site that was fine at launch can quietly break after a software update, and nobody notices until a customer mentions it.
What to bring to the first conversation
A brief isn't required. These things help, though:
- the address of your current site, if there is one
- two or three websites you like, and a sentence on why
- a plain description of your customers, and what they usually want from you
- what a visitor should be able to do on the site: call, book, buy, read
- any text or photos you already have
If none of that exists yet, a description of the business is enough to begin.
An example, in outline
This is an illustration, and not a client story. Picture an accounting practice whose site has pages called "Solutions" and "Our methodology". A visitor wants to know three plain things: whether the practice does tax returns for sole traders, how to find out more, and how to book a time. Design work on a site like this would start with renaming and reordering pages around those questions, then putting the phone number and the enquiry form where a visitor looks first.
Who this suits
Web design and maintenance suit a business that:
- needs a first website
- has a site that looks dated, or no longer says what the business does now
- wants someone to look after the site so it doesn't fall behind
It doesn't suit a business that wants a logo, printed material or a brand overhaul. Those are different jobs, and this page doesn't cover them.
Questions worth asking any web designer
A few questions are worth putting to anyone you're considering. They apply to Hello Portal too.
- Who owns the site and the domain name once it's built? It's simple to settle early and awkward to untangle later.
- How will I update the text myself? If you want to edit your own pages, ask what's involved.
- What happens on a phone? Ask to see the site on one before it goes live.
- Who looks after the site afterwards? Software ages, so someone should have the job.
- What will the site cost, and what's covered in that? A figure without a scope is only a number.
How web design fits with the other services
A website is the base the other services build on. SEO works on how the site is read by search engines. An app can sit alongside the site when visitors need to log in or do more than read. And AI media generation can supply images and video for the pages.
Web design terms in plain English
- Responsive design.
- A site that rearranges itself to suit the screen it's on, whether that's a phone or a wide monitor.
- Content management system.
- A tool that lets a site's text and images be edited without writing code.
- Domain name.
- The address people type to reach a site, such as helloportal.com.au.
- Hosting.
- The service that stores a website's files and delivers them to visitors.
- Accessibility.
- Designing a site so people with different abilities and devices can use it.
Questions about web design and maintenance
How much does a website cost in Brisbane?
Websites are quoted per job, on request, because it depends on what the site needs to do. A conversation about your business is the starting point.
How much does website maintenance cost?
Maintenance is quoted per job, on request, because it depends on the site and what looking after it involves. Describe your site and what you'd like handled.
Can you update my existing website?
Yes, an existing site is a normal starting point. Send a link when you get in touch, and say what's bothering you about it.
Will my website work on a phone?
A business site should work as well on a phone as on a desktop. That's built into the starting point, not treated as an extra.
Which platform will my site be built on?
That's worth talking through, because the right choice depends on what the site needs to do. This page doesn't name one.
Do I need to know what I want before I get in touch?
No. Knowing what's wrong with the current site is plenty. Explain what you do and who your customers are, and the conversation can go from there.
Start with a conversation
Tell us about your business and your website. We can work out the next step from there. A link to the current site helps, if you have one.