We decided to reach out and let our users know how other people are using our products. We talked to Steve Reed, a graphic designer in Las Vegas who uses Jumpchart to plan and build websites for his clients.

How’d You Find It?

A lot of people stumble across Jumpchart, but Steve was actually out looking for a solution- and Jumpchart landed in his lap.

“I was searching for a tool that non-tech-savvy clients could log into, build and manipulate a sitemap, and add simple content- that’s it. I didn’t want to scare them or have to spend time teaching them about some complex system. Jumpchart was exactly the solution I was looking for.”

Steve admitted it’s a rather giant leap from their old system, which involved shooting word documents back and forth via e-mail. He advised anyone who is still doing this to, “Seriously, stop it.” and warned how tricky things can get when dealing with a design by committee situation, or outdated versions of Word.

“Now,” he said, “everyone gets access to Jumpchart!”

How Do You Use It?

Steve found a way to solidly implement Jumpchart into phase two of his website building process.

“I use a brief online form to collect information, some of which involves a potential list of main navigation items for the site. Next I set them up a fresh, new Jumpchart and create some new pages and subpages based on the information from the form and possibly some other sections that I would recommend. The next step involves collaboration with the client. If they have a good idea of what they want I ask them to log into Jumpchart and write a brief sentence on each page describing what kind of content they are envisioning. We then go into greater detail as we address each page individually.”

He also took the time to create a video intro to introduce clients to Jumpchart’s interface. It’s here if you want to check it out! It helped his clients feel more comfortable being in control, and they can move pages around and play with the basic wireframe to test the feel of the navigation.

You Use the Export Feature, Right?

“I use the export feature to transfer the entire sitemap along with all the content we’ve been working on over to WordPress. Jumpchart generates a nice little .xml file I can upload to WordPress and have all my pages greeted, with their subpages and all the other necessary content we’ve put together. This process is smooth and it just plain works.”

“Jumpchart is like the Twitter of Website Planning”

Steve appreciates such features as the public view option so his clients can play around with something that feels more like an actual website. He also uses the comment section frequently- he has conversations with his clients specifically about each page, and the e-mail notifications help them all stay on top of the latest ideas. But what’s his favorite feature?

“I really like the general simplicity of it all; it’s what lead me to Jumpchart over all the over services out there.”

Boilerplate Info on Vectyr.

Located in Las Vegas, Nevada, Vectyr was formally known as “Suspended Studios” and made its transformation on January 1, 2010. Although Vectyr is advertised as a graphic design firm, they take their work deeper than aesthetics. They work with a lot of people who are unfamiliar with the web, and who are looking for guidance. Vectyr builds a solid strategy for the flow of the content, and directs the visitor to accomplish the goals set forth on the site. Steve Reed is the founder of Vectyr, a hard core designer at heart, and a ninja in his spare time.