Each stage below is worked through to ensure everything is correct before we move on to the next stage.
We use various tools during the stages of the project.
This short meeting introduces the teams and answers general questions about the project and process.We don’t get into detailed project discussion during this meeting.Please note that we will transcribe this meeting and save the notes to the project folder.
During this stage, we research your niche and look at what other websites are doing so we can provide a snapshot of your sector.
This research is designed to give you a snapshot of what your potential visitors are already experiencing when they search for services or products similar to yours.We use this research to inform the design stage (visitors can be suspicious of websites that look too different from what they expect).You can use keyword and content research to influence the keywords and tone of voice in the content you write for your site.
When we rebuild existing sites, there are often two approaches to the current content:
For the first option, the content will be migrated (manually or automatically) from your current site.For the second option, it’s best to discuss how much you want to edit the current content for the new site. This will then help us plan the best approach to the edits.
It’s best to write the content before the design stage. We will create a sitemap for your new website and wireframes for each key page to plan out the content’s placement.You can then use this plan to write the content for each page of the site.To progress to the design stage, we will need one piece of approved content for each section of the site (so one service page, one team member page, one blog, etc.).
Nothing derails website project progress more than content changes, so we will stay at this stage until all the required content is approved and ready to proceed to the design stage.
The prerequisites for this stage are:
This stage follows the standard design process:
Each top-level page we design for your site follows this process.This stage is not just cake decoration; it’s about creating the optimal visual layout for your approved content, in line with the previously approved wireframes.It’s essential to remember that a visitor to your website makes a judgment about the design within 300 milliseconds (does it look professional and appropriate). What converts visitors to leads (and what brings leads to your site in the first place) is what you have to say.Design and UX are a crucial stage, but they are not the most critical aspect of your site. To manage the design and feedback process, we utilise an interactive tool that provides quick and easy feedback, along with an actionable list of comments and notes.While this process can be explained in seconds, it may take time to complete unless we have the correct content to work with and the necessary creative direction outlined in the brief.
The prerequisite for this stage is:
This stage follows our build process:
This results in building a fully working website with at least one page for each section of your site (homepage, one service or product page, one team member page, one blog and so on) and all the working functional requirements from the project proposal.
When the build of your pages is approved, the content is added to all the remaining pages following the approach in the approved project proposal.Adding content to your site can be completed in one of several ways:
As we work through this process, we will provide you with links to all the pages to check, provide feedback and approve.Once all the pages are complete and approved, we complete a final snagging list across the site to ensure everything works correctly.
Any changes to supplied content will incur additional project charges, as it should all be approved before this stage.
This process depends on whether you are hosting your site or if we’re hosting it for you.We will need to firm up:
If you are hosting your site on your servers, you must provide us with an empty WordPress site to migrate your new site.
Note that we do not provide support for hosting configuration or issues on servers other than our own. If we are moving a completed site to your server, all our invoices must be paid before we do so.
We optimise all our sites before they go live, but the hosting environment can significantly impact this optimisation:
We cannot guarantee optimal speed on servers other than our own. We will do what we can to ensure your site is fast, but there is little we can do if your hosting is low quality.
Now that the site is live, we will hand over all logins and provide training for managing your content (if this has not been done already).
This is generally done via a recorded video call, during which we review all the basics of managing your site’s content. We share the video with you for future reference.
We provide affordable ongoing support for your site through optional monthly support packages. More information can be found here.
We can also help you improve your site’s rankings and on-page and off-page SEO. We’ll contact you with your site’s monthly retained SEO work options.
Website projects have many moving parts, resulting in many opportunities for deadlines to slip.
Due to this, we only schedule the current stage of any project; when the current stage is complete, we set dates for the next.
This avoids ‘spinning too many plates’ where multiple project stages are all in progress simultaneously, which causes the project to lose direction.
Most project stages depend on the date for supplying the content, so this is the only date we will ask you for at the start of the project.
These can also slow a project down if there is a significant pause between sharing things for feedback and when the input is received.
During the kick-off meeting, we will ask you how long you will realistically need to provide feedback on work that has been shared with you. It is advisable to allow 2–3 days to do this.
It’s also essential to consider same-day feedback. All our work is scheduled, with days planned out in advance, so if you provide feedback instantly to a request, our team will have moved on to their next task for the day, so you may not receive same-day replies from us.
To avoid email fatigue, we do not frequently chase feedback – deadlines are set and agreed, so everyone already knows what’s needed.
We prefer to work on projects using Sprints.
This means we block out days (or weeks) to work on your project and complete everything within that timeframe.
The advantages of doing this are:
Sprints mean that the work gets done, but if you miss a deadline for a sprint on your project, it could be 2–3 weeks before we can reschedule it.
Where possible, we think it’s advantageous to have a weekly project meeting to discuss project progress and catch up.
We schedule these calls for a day and time that suits you.
These will be added to the calendar, and we ask that if you cannot attend for any reason, you cancel the meeting so we know you are busy and can’t make it.
We’ll pick things up at next week’s meeting – we don’t reschedule project meetings.
Rather than overpromising and underdelivering, we prefer to be realistic about our deliverables and deliver what we say we will, when we say we will.
Deadlines are a two-way street, and we operate on the simple understanding that if one deadline is missed, it pushes any subsequent deadlines back accordingly.
Proper project planning means there may be a wait, but it’s far better to get the work delivered on time and done right than it is to press for unrealistic timescales and get rushed work delivered.
This is how we work, and we treat every project the same – no queue jumping or rushing projects; we deliver top-quality work on time.
