The Website Design Process

The steps of website design are discovery, a site plan, the words, the design, the build, and launch, with testing on phones and desktops before the site goes live. My process runs in six steps, beginning with your request and a short call. Then come discovery and the site plan, the content sheet, design and build, and launch. Each step ends with something you can see.

The web design process is the order of work that takes a website from a first conversation to a live site. It moves through learning the business, planning the pages, writing, designing, building, testing, and launching. A clear order keeps a project from drifting. Each step has one job, and it finishes before the next one starts, so decisions get made once.

The first step in the web design process is discovery, which means learning the business, its customers, how they search, and what the site needs them to do, before any planning, writing, or design. With me, you answer my discovery questions in writing, at your own pace, while I research your competitors and the searches your customers make. It's the step I put the most care into.

How long it takes to design a website depends on the number of pages, whether a logo has to come first, and how quickly content and decisions come back. Most delays happen while content and decisions travel back and forth, and the steps are built to keep that short. We set the timeline for your project on our call.

The design process is important because it puts decisions in order, so the plan comes before the words and the words come before the design, and nothing gets made twice. Without one, questions pile up, decisions get revisited, and the launch date keeps moving. With one, you always know where the project stands and what's waiting on you.

The web development process is the build side of a website project. It means turning the approved design into working pages, connecting forms and tools, testing on every screen size, and launching. In my process, it's step five, design and build, and it starts only after the plan and the words are settled. Building on a settled plan is what keeps the build from being redone.

No, you don't write your own content. I write it for you, built from the call, your discovery answers, and the content sheet. You read the draft, correct the facts, and tell me where it doesn't sound like you. Most owners spend a few hours on their part, spread out over the project.

The work you have to do is the form, a 20 to 30 minute call, your discovery answers, a review of the site plan, edits to the content sheet, your photos, and your review of the finished site. I take care of everything in between, from the plan and the search work to the writing, the design, and the build.

Yes, it will look good on a phone. Every page is designed for phones and desktops together, and I check each one on both before you see it. Many of your customers will meet your business on a phone, so that version gets the same care as the desktop one.

No, you don't have to sit through a lot of meetings. There's one short call at the start. After that, questions reach you in writing, gathered into one list at a time, and you answer when it suits you. If a decision is easier to talk through, you and I can get on a call.

Yes, you can see the site while it's being built. I build it on a private test site, and you get a link to review it. Your current site stays live until launch day, so customers keep finding you the whole time.

If your project isn't a good fit, I'll tell you on the first call, so you know where you stand from the start. I only take on a project when I'm confident I can do the job well. If another kind of help would serve you better, I'll say so.