Process
How a website project works, from first call to launch
Step by step
What happens at each stage?
- 01
Discover
A free conversation about your business, your customers, and what you’d like the website to do. If you’re nearby, we’ll usually come to you; otherwise it’s a video call. You don’t need to know what you want yet. Working that out is part of the job. - 02
Brief and quote
We write a brief with you: the pages you need, what goes on each one, the features, and the platform that suits the site best. It comes with a written scope, a fixed quote, and a timeline, so you know what you’re getting, when, and for how much. - 03
Design
You see a first design of your home page and one key inner page, and we refine it with you until you’re happy, with no set number of rounds. For WordPress sites, we usually design directly in Divi on a private preview site, so the design and build happen together. For custom-coded sites, we design every page in Figma first, so you can see the whole site before any code is written. - 04
Build
Every page is built to the approved design on a private staging site you can check at any point. We add your content, set up the editor so you can make changes yourself, and connect anything the site needs, such as booking, payments, or email sign-ups. - 05
Test and launch
We check the site on real phones, tablets, and computers for speed, accessibility, and search readiness, and fix anything we find. Then it goes live with hosting and Google Search Console set up. - 06
Aftercare
You get your first year of managed hosting, and two hours of content updates or design tweaks to use any time in the 12 months after launch. After that, the person who built your site is still the person you deal with.
Timeline
How long does a website take?
Design usually takes one to two weeks once work starts, and most builds two to six, depending on the size and complexity of the site. A one-page site or a straightforward WordPress site can be quicker; larger, more complicated builds, such as a shop or booking site, can take longer.
Three things make the biggest difference to the timeline:
- The size of the site: the number of pages, and any features such as bookings or an online shop.
- Your content: a project moves fastest when the words and photos are ready, or when we’re writing them for you from the start.
- Feedback: each round of design moves as quickly as the replies. We ask for feedback within a week.
We’ll give you a timeline with your quote, and tell you straight away if anything changes it.
Your part
What will you need from me?
- Your logo and brand, if you have them. If not, we can put a simple logo together as part of the design.
- The words and photos, or help from us to write and find them.
- Feedback on the designs, so each round moves the site forward.
- Access to your domain name, or we can register and manage one for you.
- One decision-maker, or a clear way to agree changes if several people are involved.
Payment
When do I pay?
Half when you approve the design, and half at launch. The price in your quote is the price you pay. Smaller changes after launch are billed by the hour, in 15-minute increments.
Redesigns
What if I already have a website?
The process is the same, with two additions. At the start, we look at what your current site does well and what it’s missing, so the new site keeps what works. At launch, pages keep their addresses wherever possible, and any that move are redirected to their new home, so you don’t lose visitors or search rankings. Moving your hosting to us happens without the site going offline.
Thinking about a new website?
Or call 01603 244130, or email hello@brainweb.co.uk.