1. Discovery and audit
We learn your business, customers and competitors, and audit any existing site, so goals and scope are clear before design starts.
2. Planning and quote
We agree pages, features, integrations and milestones and provide a fixed written quote.
3. Design
Wireframes and visual design show structure and look. You review and request revisions before development begins.
4. Development and content
The site is built mobile-first with SEO foundations: clean markup, structured data, sitemaps and fast loading. Content is written or refined in parallel.
5. Testing and launch
We test on devices and browsers, check forms, analytics and redirects, then launch and submit the sitemap.
6. Growth
After launch we monitor performance, fix issues and continue SEO and conversion improvements.
What you will be asked to do at each stage
A project goes smoothly when the client knows what is needed and when.
- Discovery: describe your business, customers and goals, and share access to existing assets
- Design: review wireframes and designs within a few days and give consolidated feedback
- Development: answer questions and approve features as they are completed
- Content: supply or approve text, photos and team details
- Testing: check forms, links and key journeys on your own devices
- Launch: confirm domain and hosting access and approve the go-live date
- After launch: review reports and decide what to improve next
What causes projects to run late
The most common cause is delayed feedback or content. A design review that takes three weeks instead of three days pushes everything behind it. Scope changes in the middle of development are the second cause, because each new feature affects design, testing and the schedule.
A good plan builds in a small buffer, agrees the scope in writing and keeps a list of ideas for later so that the launch is not held up by nice-to-haves.
After the launch
A launch is the start of the work that makes a website valuable. In the first weeks we watch speed, errors and indexing. After that, a simple routine of monthly reporting, content updates and small improvements keeps results moving. Plans for hosting, security and backups should be agreed before launch so that nothing is left to chance.
Choosing a team
Look for people who ask questions about your business before talking about technology. Ask to see work in your sector, and speak to past clients if you can. Check that they explain how SEO, performance and accessibility are handled during the build, not only afterwards, and that they are clear about who owns the finished site.
Communication matters as much as skill. A team that responds quickly, reports progress plainly and flags problems early will usually deliver a better outcome than one that disappears between milestones.
Content: the part that decides timelines
Websites are made of content, and content is the most common cause of delay. Decide early who will write and approve text, whether professional photography is needed and how much existing material can be reused. A content outline agreed at the start, with deadlines, keeps development and writing moving together.
Questions to settle before the build starts
Agreeing these early prevents arguments later.
- What is the main goal of the site, and how will we measure it?
- Who is the main audience, and what do they need to do?
- Which pages and features are essential for launch, and which can wait?
- Who writes the content and by when?
- Who approves work, and how quickly?
- Where will the site be hosted and who manages it?
- What happens after launch: support, updates and SEO?
A sample timeline for a typical business site
Every project differs, but this is a common shape for a site of around twenty pages.
- Week 1: discovery call, audit of any existing site, goals and scope agreed, quote approved
- Week 2: structure and wireframes, content outline and keyword research
- Weeks 2 to 3: visual design for mobile and desktop, review and revisions
- Weeks 3 to 4: development of templates and features, content added as it arrives
- Week 4 to 5: testing on devices, speed and SEO checks, redirects prepared
- Week 5: launch, sitemap submitted, monitoring begins
- Weeks 6 to 8: fixes, small improvements and a first performance review
How we keep you informed
Good communication keeps projects on track. You should know who your contact is, how to reach them and when to expect updates. Short written updates at agreed points, links to a working preview from early on and a simple shared list of open questions make the process transparent.
If something changes, such as a delay in content or a new requirement, say so early. Most problems are easy to handle when they are raised promptly and hard when they are discovered at the end.
Handover and training
At the end of a project you should receive access to everything that matters: the site and its admin, hosting and domain, analytics and Search Console, design files and documentation. A short training session shows your team how to edit pages, publish posts, manage forms and check the basic reports.
Agree what happens next. Many businesses choose a maintenance plan and monthly SEO, others prefer to manage the site themselves with occasional help. Either is fine, as long as someone is responsible for keeping the site secure, accurate and improving.
What happens after the first month
In the first month after launch the focus is on stability and learning. We watch speed, errors and indexing, fix anything that slipped through testing and review how visitors move through the site. Analytics, Search Console and the contact form data show which pages work and which do not.
In the following months, improvements become targeted. Pages with high traffic but few enquiries get clearer calls to action, thin pages get more substance, and gaps in content are filled. If you have chosen ongoing SEO, new pages and guides are planned around the searches that matter to your business.
A site that is reviewed every month and improved a little each time tends to outperform one that is rebuilt every few years. The process described in this guide gets a good site live; the rhythm after launch is what makes it keep earning.
How to give feedback that speeds a project up
Good feedback is specific, consolidated and prompt. Instead of saying the page does not feel right, say what you want a visitor to notice first and what is distracting from it. Collect comments from everyone involved into one list before sending it, so the team is not working from conflicting instructions.
Respond within the agreed window, and if a decision needs more time, say when you will answer. Mark each comment as must-fix or nice-to-have, so that the launch is not delayed by preferences. Projects with disciplined feedback usually finish sooner, and the result tends to be better, because the team can spend its time improving rather than interpreting.