What Are the Phases of a Website Project?
A website project moves through a series of defined phases. Each phase must be completed before the next can progress efficiently.
1. Proposal and Agreement
The proposal defines the project scope, included pages, features, fees and payment schedule. The agreement establishes the terms of the working relationship.
Work begins after the proposal and contract have been approved.
2. Down Payment
The required down payment reserves the project and authorizes work to begin.
Remaining payments are due according to the schedule defined in the proposal or contract.
3. Submit Materials
The client provides the content and access needed for the project. This may include:
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Website copy
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Photographs and videos
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Logos and brand files
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Service and business information
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Account access
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Policies and legal content
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Examples or reference materials
Complete and organized materials help prevent delays. Copywriting, image sourcing and missing information can add considerable time to the project.
4. Design Approval
The initial design establishes the website’s visual direction, layout system, typography, colors and overall user experience.
The client reviews the design and provides consolidated feedback. Once the design is approved, it becomes the basis for the remaining pages.
Major design changes requested after approval may affect the project schedule or require additional billing.
5. Website Development
The approved design is developed into a functional website. Pages, navigation, forms, responsive layouts, content and technical settings are added during this phase.
The website is typically built in a private development or staging environment so the existing website can remain available.
6. Build Approval
The client reviews the completed website before launch. This review focuses on the full build, including:
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Page content
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Images
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Navigation
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Forms
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Links
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Mobile layouts
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Calls to action
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Contact information
Corrections and agreed revisions are completed before final approval.
Build approval confirms that the website is ready for quality assurance and launch. New ideas, pages or substantial layout changes may be treated as additional work.
7. Quality Assurance
The website is tested across common screen sizes and browsers. Links, forms, navigation, tracking, redirects, security settings and technical configurations are reviewed.
Quality assurance identifies errors and launch risks. It is not an additional design or content revision phase.
8. Launch
The approved website is moved to the live domain or the existing website is replaced.
Domain, hosting, SSL, analytics, Search Console and other required systems are checked as part of the launch process.
9. Post-Launch Review
The public website is tested again after launch. Forms, links, tracking, redirects and mobile layouts are checked in the live environment.
Search engines must then crawl and process the new or updated website. Search visibility may fluctuate while this occurs.
Future content updates and technical requests should be submitted through the support portal.