The creation of www.cornerstonelearning.ie

Creating anything from scratch can be a very daunting task.

However, I wanted to share that anything is possible when you have the right people working on the right tasks, with the right skillset, at the right time!

I can honestly say that I’ve considered trying to make my own website for Cornerstone Learning. I have tried two different times over the past six years to create my own website
from scratch, and all I can say is…it never happened! It’s really tough going to create the content AND the design elements all by yourself!

Pride Design

Shane O’Donnell at Pride Design in Cork is the creative force behind this website. Through the advice, support and collaboration we received from Shane, this website project started, moved forward, and was completed in about four months. This may seem like a long time, but it’s important to note that the creative process cannot be rushed! Nor should it be!

Through the journey, there have been no loose ends, no wondering and waiting if the work would get done. Shane hit every deadline we set, and gently challenged US to make sure WE didn’t get caught up in the minutiae of over analysis.

Shane provided a variety of key skills through the journey of website design:

• Creativity
• Awareness of Trends
• Stability
• Consistency
• Innovation

While Eric and I provided the content for the site, Shane really provided the expertise, design and flow to ensure that the site made sense, worked well, and had a professional and clean feel to it...which we really feel it does!

Launch Date

We launched on December 20 th , 2023….and Eric and I are looking forward to developing our online presence over the coming months.

However, it’s important to mention that this website is the result of many things:

1. Years of simply doing the work that you love to do…so that you have something to advertise!
2. Months of thinking about whether it is worth the time, effort and money to put your business online (it is!)
3. Weeks of creating content, emailing back and forth with Shane, design changes, and deciding what and what NOT to include!
4. Days of editing the site, asking for small changes, meetings to discuss ideas, and finalising the pages for the overall site
5. Hours of personal agonising about each word, image and graphic – this is part of the process but one that I found challenging! The big-picture stuff is FUN! The details are time-consuming and tiring!
6. Minutes for the site to GO LIVE! That’s the easy part! It’s scary to push the site from testing to reality! But there comes a point where you just have to get it out there!

Next Steps

We are now moving forward with Shane and Pride Design into the next phase of our partnership, which includes the following:

Marketing – getting the word on social media platforms and on Google. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is key, and Pride Design will help us with this!

Monitoring – which keywords will help drive traffic? How will we know if we are getting value for money with the site, and with our marketing efforts?

Mobile Optimisation – The site works great on all platforms, and this will continue to be a key feature of the site…it works anywhere!

Maintenance – This might be the boring part, but it’s critical to the health of a website. Pride Design is hosting our website and will ensure that it is up to date and secure.

Milestones – Brochure websites are not enough…what value can we bring to people who come to the site? Blogs, podcasts and article are all part of the goals of the site, along with new training and coaching offerings as we grow.

Thank you, Shane, for all your hard work and patience through the process!

We’re looking forward to working together in 2024!