The steps of a web project, from the first conversation to launch

Before launching a website, most business owners ask the same questions: what is going to happen, how long will it take, and what is expected of me? Here is how a web project unfolds when I lead it, step by step, with what you will need to provide at each one.

Overview: six steps

Step	What gets decided	Your role
1. Scope	Goal, customers, offer, scope	Explain your business and your priorities
2. Design	Site structure, page layout, mockups	Approve the structure and the design
3. Develop	Building the website	Provide the content
4. Optimize	Preparation for Google	Approve the page titles
5. Test	Full check before launch	Test the website on your side
6. Deploy	Launch and handover	Collect your access credentials

Search optimization comes fourth, but it starts at the very first step: the site structure decided during scoping already determines which searches the website will be able to rank for.

Scope

Scoping lays the foundations: what the website must deliver (quote requests, sales, appointments), for which customers, with which pages and which features. It is also when the tool is chosen, WordPress or a custom website, and when the budget and schedule are set.

What you provide

A description of your business, your goals and your constraints. A one-page written brief prepared in advance saves a lot of time.

Design

The page structure and the site structure are set before the first screen: which pages, in what order, with which links between them. Then come the mockups, designed mobile-first, which show what the website will look like before it is built.

What you provide

Your approvals, and precise feedback: "this block should present our references" helps more than "I don't really like it". Gather your team's comments into a single round of feedback.

Develop

The website is built from the approved mockups, with the right tool for the deadline and the expected features: custom code or an existing tool. Progress can be followed on a working version that is not visible to the public.

What you provide

The content: texts, photos, logo, legal information. This is the step where it becomes essential, and where most projects fall behind.

Optimize

Each page receives a title and a description written for Google, a clear heading structure and links to the other pages. The sitemap, structured data and Search Console are prepared for launch.

What you provide

A review of the page titles: they are what will appear in the search results.

Test

Before launch, every page is checked on mobile and desktop, in several browsers. Forms are tested all the way to the messages being received, links are checked and loading speed is measured.

What you provide

A test on your side: browse the website as a customer would, on your own phone, and send yourself a request through the form.

Deploy

The website goes live on your domain name. Hosting, domain name and access are set up so that you stay independent: they are in your name, and you receive the complete list of access credentials. Search Console is connected to the website, and the sitemap is submitted.

What you provide

Access to your domain name, if you already have one. If it stayed with a former provider, the guide to recovering your website and access explains what to do.

How long does it take?

The timeline is set during scoping, once the scope is known. What makes it vary:

• the number of page templates and the features to develop;
• the availability of content: it is the first cause of delay, and it depends on you;
• the number of rounds of design revisions;
• how quickly approvals are given at each step.

The surest way to meet a deadline is therefore to prepare your content while the website is being designed, and to appoint a single person to approve each step.

After launch

A website is not finished on the day it goes live. The first weeks are used to check that Google indexes the pages, to follow the first inquiries and to fix what real visitors reveal. Then come maintenance (updates, backups) and improvements, at the pace of your business.

This method is detailed on the Expertise page, and applied to every website design project. If you have a project, describe it in a few lines.