When I was a Roundpeg intern in the summer of 2009, I oversaw our website redesign. Over the last two years, it’s been a point of pride for me to point to the site and say “I did this.” However, in the last two years web design has undergone quite a shift. While our site is still functional, it’s no longer  “cutting edge”,  and quite honestly it seems a bit dowdy in comparison to many of our competitors.

As a web design company, we need to be ahead of the curve, not behind it. We are all about reinvention, and today we launched our new, redesigned website.

I’m not going to talk about the actual design aspects, we have covered that in a series of blog posts leading up to today’s launch. .What I will remember about this redesign is the way it brought our team together.

Our redesign followed four steps:

1. Vision-Forming a vision for what we wanted our new site to look and feel like was critical in pointing us in the right direction. We started by asking ourselves  “what defines us?”, “how do we want visitors to feel?” and “how do we show off our personality?” The answers:   We are defined by our quirky sense of humor, sense of fun, and seriousness about our work. We love what we do and enjoy sharing what we know with others.   Roundpeg is a place where people feel comfortable and enjoy the visit.  The challenge was to create a site that made people feel the same way.

2. Plan-Setting goals and deadlines to complete phases of the redesign kept us on track. This was vastly different from two years ago. As an intern, the web design was my only project.   This time around everyone on the team was involved, and each of us had to block out time and dedicate energy toward our own marketing and still meet client deadlines.  It took longer, but we think it represents our best work so it was worth the time spent.

3. Buy-In-This was where the team really came together. When I helped redesign the site in ’09, I wasn’t an employee, so it wasn’t like a full-time, concentrated team effort. This year, we became a family. Every member of the Roundpeg team (including our interns and pets) was in on design meetings, giving input and suggestions for  improvement.  Each of us can point to specific elements and say:  That was my idea.

4. Review and Celebration-Two parts, both equally important. We picked this site apart at every revision. We poured over every word for spelling errors, tweaked code, and rewrote content. And just when we thought we were finished, we sent out drafts of the site some of our strategic partners who gave us even more feedback. What emerged was a stronger, more collaborative site.

And as far as the celebration, well… Lets’ just say we were going to shoot video, but we are not sure anyone out side of the family would really understand why we needed a screw driver and hammer to open the last bottle of wine.

In the end, the new Roundpeg site represents who we are, what we are, and where we plan to go. The strength of the site and the strength of the company are now one and the same … it is about the passion of our people.

So what do you think of the new site?  Share your comments here.

Want to update your image? Roundpeg, an Indianapolis web design firm, can help. Start by taking our web test.