You may not have heard of Growth-Driven Design (GDD) before, and that’s perfectly fine. Here at Figmints, we’re big supporters of GDD. The benefits it offers can apply to any company’s website. So what is GDD and how does it differ from traditional web design? Before explaining what GDD is, it’s best to identify how it differs from traditional web design. Traditional web design is performed using a waterfall approach that entails a long initial planning period, followed by site architecture design. Once this is done, everything gets sent over to development and the site is built over a long period of time. But what happens when an update is needed? The entire process starts over again and a whole new site is created. Most websites using this method redesign every 2-3 years and can leave room for many problems along the way. In contrast to this, GDD is a more iterative approach to web design. Rather than planning for bulk updates every few years, those who use a Growth-Driven approach aim to continuously improve their websites. Through iterative updates, a website created with GDD in mind grows with its users. As consumer preferences and interests change over time, so will your website. This is important for a few reasons:
- Your UI and UX will always be optimized for your website goals (lead generation, purchases, etc.).
- Data-driven tests will be easier to perform and will provide you with much a deeper pool of information to pull from.
- Optimizing conversion rates can be done with needlepoint precision, turning more of your traffic into leads.
GDD finds its value in providing your users with a rich resource of relevant content and information to explore. By continually improving and updating, your users will have a more personalized experience over time, and your digital brand will grow more naturally than ever before.
The GDD Process
With your newfound knowledge of how to drastically improve any website, it’s now time to understand what the process of building a website with GDD is
1. Build the Platform Site (about 2-3 Sprints) Your platform site is where it all begins. This site is simple, stripped down, and super easy to put together. The idea behind your platform site is to have a bare bones foundation which you can build upon over time. With this base, you’ll be equipped to visualize your digital identity and its true potential. This is the longest step of the process and, here at Figmints, takes us about 2-3 sprints to complete.
2. Create and Iterate (½ – 1 Sprint per Month) Content Creation Now that you have a platform to build upon, it’s time to start building! This part of the process is where you’ll build all the juicy content for your traffic to find. Blog posts, page updates, photo libraries, and anything else you want your users to find will all be created and edited month over month as your website matures. Conversion Optimization Here, your conversion methods will be tested with extreme efficiency. With GDD, you can consistently run experiments on your site to see what converts best, and what doesn’t. By doing this, your conversion rate can be improved constantly and substantially, allowing your site to transform its quality traffic into leads. Well, that pretty much wraps it up. As you can see, there’s a clear reason why Growth-Driven Design is our design method of choice. If you have any more questions about how it works, feel free to contact us at info@figmints.com and we’ll happily help you out.
