Great Collaboration Makes Great Sites

WeatherfordLabs.com came to Digett via The Phillips Agency (TPA), an advertising and marketing firm out of Houston, TX, that has been working with Weatherford Laboratories on branding efforts for some time. TPA requested our involvement for our experience building content-managed websites. They provided our team with a beautiful design layout, and that's where our great collaborative effort began.

Static design comps like those from TPA dictate a big part of what a site will look like upon completion, but they can't tell the whole story by themselves because, unlike a Photoshop file, the web isn't static. TPA worked with us to nail down all the functional specifications from what we saw in the designs.

How do lists sort? Should new buttons appear to the left or the right of old buttons? What happens when a certain item is clicked? By defining these potential x-factors up front, we reduce suprises or confusion down the road. Once we felt we had clarified all the major site requirements, we brought our developer up to speed and began the site build.

Throughout the process, TPA and Weatherford made themselves available to us to answer our questions and troubleshoot when the need arose. Similarly, we were a resource to them when they wondered about the feasibility of 13th-hour changes and updates. All in all, the three parties worked hand in hand to successfully bring the new WeatherfordLabs.com to life.

There's a number of noteworthy items on the site: The navigation is clean and clear. The Events section provides an organized listing of all the training courses, seminars, and trade shows in which Weatherford participates. Offices makes it easy to find the address, phone number, and email link for Weatherford's 38 offices worldwide.

The real story about this build, though, is the teamwork it took to see the site through planning, design, development, proofing, and successful launch. No man is an island. The collaborative powers of the trio of companies involved in this site prove that's a good thing.