It might be customer-facing websites that get all the attention and, hopefully, the plaudits as well. But it's often the business systems that are behind the scenes that do a great deal of the heavy lifting. They may be CRM-based or reporting systems that make life simpler for employees while also providing management with a 360° overview in the process. Sometimes they are just systems that are designed to streamline the many different elements of the HR processes and procedures.
Often the requirement is to make these functional first with design a secondary consideration. And, even though at Cefar we are a digital design agency, we are equally experienced and adept at creating and developing backroom systems for many kinds of businesses using a wide range of platforms. Yes, we will make them look good, but that is never our primary objective.
Operations Management
Planning Management
Customisation
Return on Investment
Transaction Processing
Continuous Improvement
Unsurprisingly, our first stage is to get to understand the nuts and bolts of a business and then to map out, alongside our client, the scope and purpose of the proposed system. It's our commitment to really getting under the skin of a client's business that we believe truly sets us apart from many of our competitors.
It may be that these business solutions also have to dovetail with legacy systems or integrate with other elements like the cloud. Our experienced and dedicated team are able to work within all these parameters, and more, as well as operating hand-in-hand with our client's own departments whether that's IT, HR, Logistics or any others who may be stakeholders.
Because business never stands still, we also make sure that all of our business systems are fully scalable with a strong element of future-proofing built in. So when change and growth occurs it's never a case of going back to the drawing board, just of enhancing, expanding and improving.
Because business never stands still, we also make sure that all of our business systems are fully scalable with a strong element of future-proofing built in. So when change and growth occurs it's never a case of going back to the drawing board, just of enhancing, expanding and improving.
There are many aspects that we consider when we become involved with a client who needs to integrate a CMS into their business, or improve on an existing one. We've already mentioned that it might need to tie in with a legacy system, but that is only the beginning.
Firstly, there's the consideration about who exactly will be using it. Will they be highly experienced and IT literate, or will they need a high level of support, including some initial training? Also, how many people will need access to the system and what security measures will need to be put in place?
Then there is the nature of the site and what its exact purpose is going to be. Examples include static websites, e-commerce sites, blogs, forums and countless other possibilities. To ensure that the right system is used, we work with a number of platforms and can recommend the most suitable for the specific requirements in question.
Following preliminary discussions and agreements being reached about the sort of CMS system needed, there are generally four distinct stages to the process.
Our initial action will be to arrange web hosting and acquire a domain name if you don't already have one. Then it will be to install the particular web management system that has been selected on your server.
The next stage will be to configure the system to tailor it in line with functional requirements as well as overlaying specific branding and design to ensure that it is uniquely yours.
Finally, it will be time to start populating the site and to ensure that everyone else who will be doing this in the future is comfortable with what they need to do.
The result will be a CMS system that is fit for purpose, and built to last.
Our Design Work
We're always on the lookout for new and interesting projects that will let us make a real difference to our clients.
Got a project in mind? Get in touch!
