How a website project works

1. 01

   Scope

   You tell us about the business by email, through the contact form or with a brief from the brief builder. We may ask a few follow-up questions. You then receive a written scope listing every page and task, the timeline and a fixed price. Nothing starts until you agree it in writing.

2. 02

   Content

   We send a short questionnaire and arrange a call of about 45 minutes. We ask about the jobs you want more of, the areas you cover, how enquiries are handled and which registrations you hold. We collect registration numbers, review links and photos. Then we write every page and send it to you for checking.

3. 03

   Design

   With approved content in hand, we design the key page types on screen, phone view first. You see real words and real photos, not placeholder text. You can ask for changes before anything is coded.

4. 04

   Build and test

   We code the site, connect the enquiry form to your inbox and set up structured data, the sitemap and search tools. We test on real phones, with screen readers and against speed targets, and fix what we find.

5. 05

   Launch and handover

   We agree a quiet time to go live, switch the site over, check the form and redirects, and submit the sitemap. You receive a handover pack with logins, settings and a short monthly checklist.

Why content comes before design

Many web projects start with a design and then try to fit words into it. The result is pages written to fill boxes rather than to help customers. For a plumbing firm, the content is what persuades someone to call: the description of the job, the coverage, the credentials and the honest detail about response times. So we write it first and design around it.

It also protects you. Every claim on the site, from "Gas Safe registered" to "evenings and weekends", is checked by you before it is designed into a page. If a statement is not something you can prove, it never reaches the live site. That matters because the Advertising Standards Authority treats objective claims on a business's own website as needing evidence, and has done since its online remit was extended in 2011.^[1]

What we need from you, and when

A frequent cause of delay in any web project is waiting for content or photos. If you know you will be busy, tell us at the start and we will plan the timeline around it.

How long each stage takes

For a typical plumbing website of eight to fifteen pages, scope takes a few days, content one to two weeks, design about a week, build and testing one to two weeks, and launch a day. Larger sites, redesigns with many old pages and builds with integrations take longer. The scope gives you a timeline for your project specifically.

How we communicate

Mostly by email, so there is always a written record of what was agreed. We use calls for the content interview and for anything easier to talk through. You get a short update at the end of each stage, and we reply to messages within two working days, usually sooner.

We do not ask you to learn a project management tool. If you prefer phone or text for quick questions, tell us and we will work that way.

Testing before launch

Before any site goes live we run the same set of checks:

• Every page reviewed on a recent iPhone, a recent Android phone and an older small-screen Android.
• The call button dials, the form sends and errors are explained clearly.
• Keyboard and screen reader checks against WCAG 2.2 level AA.^[2]
• Speed measured against Core Web Vitals targets.^[3]
• All links checked, structured data validated and the sitemap confirmed.
• For redesigns, every old address tested against the redirect map.

After launch

For the first few weeks we watch Search Console for errors and confirm the form keeps delivering. After that, you can take a care plan, ask us for occasional changes, or run the site yourself with the handover pack. You own everything either way.

Process questions