Phase 1: getting to know you
The first call
The first call with a prospective client is my chance to understand your project objectives, target audience, design preferences and timeline. I'll ask questions until I have a clear picture of what you need and what you want the new website to achieve.
The discussion points are usually:
- Why are you calling?
- About your business
- Who I'd be working with
- What problem are you trying to solve?
- Do you have a budget in mind?
- Is there a deadline?
I'll also give you an overview of my process, services and pricing, and answer whatever you want to ask. The first call works both ways: it's your opportunity to learn how I work. If we both feel it's a good fit, we schedule a discovery session, and either way you get a summary of the discussion and the next steps.
Discovery session
So you're thinking of working with me? Great choice, if I do say so myself. The discovery session goes deep into your project goals, scope, design preferences, target audience and requirements, so I can build a clear plan of action.
It typically lasts two hours, involves your project lead or stakeholder, and can happen in person, over video or on the phone, whatever suits. Your time is valuable, so I send an outline of what I'll be asking before the meeting. That lets you prepare the problems in advance and leaves more of the session for discussing solutions, which is the fun part.
I use what we cover to create a proposal tailored to your needs, and I won't throw a bunch of buzzwords at you; you'll understand every step of the process.
Proposal
After the discovery session I create a proposal: a detailed project plan, wireframes, mock-ups, and a breakdown of costs and timelines, with options for different levels of design and development. It always includes a timeline, milestones, deliverables, and the key responsibilities on both sides, so the scope of work and expected outcome are unambiguous.
Once you've reviewed and approved the proposal, I provide a quotation: the agreement on scope, timeline and cost, with a payment schedule and terms.
By accepting the proposal and quotation you are agreeing to the scope, timeline and cost outlined in them. Changes to scope or timeline may affect the quote.
The project life-cycle
Design
If you already have a design in Figma, my job is to review it against the project's needs: usability and accessibility, element sizing and spacing, image optimisation, and how it will respond to different screen sizes. We discuss any adjustments together.
More often, clients don't have a polished design file; they have an idea of what the feel should be. In that case we work through the look and feel together: logo, colours, fonts, imagery, voice and tone. I then create a prototype or wireframe you can react to, and refine it from your feedback. Only once the design is approved does the build begin.
First build and review
A brief optional phase where we sanity-check the design in a development environment. Typically I build the homepage plus one other page, so any peculiarities surface before they can affect future site changes and management.
Complete build
I build out the remainder of the site using the agreed design and the assets and copy provided. Case studies, blogs and team pages become CMS collections with template pages, for consistency and easy management going forward. I create any forms you need and, if required, automate their integration with your operational tools, such as sending an enquiry into your CRM and alerting you to the new opportunity.
Pre-launch testing
Before launch I review the design and layout against the approved version, check every feature functions, confirm everything in the project scope has been delivered, check the code for errors, optimise for performance and loading speed, and test across devices and browsers. Once the site both looks and behaves as intended, we launch.
Launch
I aim to launch at a time of your choosing. New websites can go live almost immediately. A new design at an existing address needs the internet to be told the site has moved, which works like mail forwarding when you move house: I update the DNS records that tell the world where your site now lives, and the news propagates across the internet's routing servers.
It's perfectly normal for the old site to appear on one connection and the new one on another for a short while, because different networks receive the update at different times. It usually settles for everyone within the hour.
And now what?
Sit back and survey the wonder that is your new business website? Of course, but not for too long. Websites are not static documents; they should be updated regularly with quality content that informs and adds value. Search engines favour sites serving fresh, quality content the same way you prefer a good restaurant over somewhere serving the same tired dishes month after month.
You'll want to make changes to content and images, and the editor tools let you do that from anywhere just by logging in. For everything beyond that, there are two kinds of post-launch support:
- Ad-hoc support: request work through the projects portal and get billed monthly in arrears for just the time used.
- A support plan: we agree how much support you need on an average month, you commit to 3, 6 or 12 months, and the longer the commitment the cheaper the rate.
I understand the value of long-term partnerships; many of my customers have been with me for a decade or more. I look for reciprocal relationships with people I like, where we look out for each other's long-term benefit. Impartial advice and the client's best outcome have made me the trusted advisor to many businesses, and over the years that has helped us both grow.