Six stages. Zero surprises.
A website project should not feel like a leap of faith. Every stage has a defined output, a defined duration and a defined ask of you.
Timelines depend on scope and on how quickly feedback arrives. We say so in writing before we start, and we hold to it.
Estimate your timeline- 01
Discover
Understand before designing
Typically one to two weeks
This is the stage that decides whether the project succeeds. We look at your objectives, your customers, your competitors and your existing data. We ask awkward questions about budget, timeline and who signs off work. The output is a written brief that we both agree on before any design begins.
What you do- Share objectives honestly, including constraints
- Provide access to existing accounts and analytics
- Identify who has final approval
What you get- Kick-off and stakeholder session
- Business and objective review
- Audience and competitor research
- Existing site and analytics review
- Written project brief
Output — Written project brief and success measures
- 02
Strategize
Decide what the site has to do
Typically one to two weeks
Strategy is where a website stops being a collection of pages and becomes an argument. We define the sitemap, the messaging hierarchy, the primary action for every page and the content plan. Nothing here is visual yet, and that is deliberate — structure decisions are far cheaper to make before design than after.
What you do- Review and approve the sitemap
- Contribute knowledge about your customers
- Confirm who writes what content
What you get- Information architecture and sitemap
- Messaging hierarchy per page
- Content plan and copy structure
- Primary actions and conversion paths
- Technical and integration requirements
Output — Sitemap, messaging framework and content plan
- 03
Design
Art-direct the experience
Typically two to four weeks
Design begins with direction rather than finished pages. We establish type, colour, spacing and image treatment as a system, then apply it to the templates in priority order. You see work early and often. Feedback happens on structure and hierarchy first, refinement second.
What you do- Review designs against the brief
- Give consolidated, prioritised feedback
- Approve the design system before build
What you get- Art direction and design system
- Typography and colour specification
- Key page designs
- Responsive layouts for every breakpoint
- Interaction and motion specification
- Structured feedback rounds
Output — Complete responsive designs and a design system
- 04
Develop
Build it properly
Typically two to five weeks
Development happens on a staging environment you can watch. We build components rather than one-off pages, wire up the content system so your team can edit, and test across browsers and devices. Accessibility and performance are checked during the build, not after it.
What you do- Supply and approve content
- Review staging and test key journeys
- Provide third-party account access
What you get- Component-based front-end build
- Content management setup and training
- Form and integration wiring
- Accessibility implementation
- Performance optimisation
- Cross-browser and device testing
Output — Tested staging site with content loaded
- 05
Launch
Go live without losing anything
Typically one week
Launch is a checklist, not a moment. Redirects are mapped, metadata is verified, analytics is confirmed, forms are tested with a real enquiry, and backups are in place. You receive documentation, training and all credentials. Nothing stays locked with us.
What you do- Final approval and sign-off
- Confirm DNS and hosting access
- Announce the launch
What you get- Redirect mapping and migration
- Metadata and structured data verification
- Analytics and search console setup
- Form and integration testing
- Final accessibility and performance check
- Documentation and training handover
Output — Live website, documentation and full ownership
- 06
Optimise
Keep improving
Ongoing, if you choose it
A website is never finished; it either improves or decays. We review behaviour, form hypotheses and make prioritised changes. This stage is optional and is scoped separately, but we recommend every site has someone responsible for it.
What you do- Share business context and priorities
- Approve changes
- Tell us what you are hearing from customers
What you get- Behaviour and performance review
- Prioritised improvement backlog
- Copy and layout experiments
- Technical maintenance and updates
- Quarterly reporting
Output — Improvement backlog and quarterly report
Six principles, no exceptions.
Strategy before aesthetics
We decide what a page must achieve before we decide how it should look. Beautiful work that is built on the wrong structure still fails.
You see work early
No disappearing for three weeks and returning with a reveal. You review direction, structure and detail in that order.
Consolidated feedback
One decision-maker, one consolidated list. It is the single biggest factor in whether a project finishes on time.
Ownership stays with you
Code, design files, content, domains and hosting. We hand over everything and train you to use it.
Timelines are written, not implied
Every project gets a schedule before it starts. Timelines depend on scope and review speed, so we say so plainly.
No work we cannot explain
If we recommend something, we can tell you why. If we cannot, we should not be recommending it.