Prior to starting any project, we put together a comprehensive proposal. This typically includes the following: • Itemised project costing • a breakdown of requirements • specific tasks we’ll carry out • project milestones and timescales • a proposed payment schedule

Once our proposal is is agreed upon, it forms the blueprint of our project strategy. We’ll then schedule development and design meetings as required to introduce team members and project managers, and commence work on the project.

Once a strategy is agreed upon, and a payment plan organised, the project is handed over to our design team. We’ll usually discuss specific requirements or features, as well as looking at sympathetic projects or design directions to give us an idea of industry and personal preference.

At this stage, we’ll often provide recommendations and share previous experiences to help clients find the most effective route to a successful project. We’ll supply designs in a shareable online format which allows relevant parties to share feedback and shape the project collaboratively.

The build stage commences once we receive written sign-off on supplied designs. Our team set up a project on a development server, supplying clients with a private link, and install our framework and relevant systems for the build.

Our developers will then code a bespoke front-end website, adding custom admin functionality and preparing initial content where supplied. Often, we’ll grant access to CMS systems at this stage to give clients early access to add content.

In most cases, we work with clients to produce and integrate content for their websites. While we rarely integrate this prior to build, it’s a process that can start much earlier in the process, with content preparation and collation often taking place well in advance of a project design and development starting.

Website content can be taken many forms:

• marketing materials
• brochures and printed media
• photography or videography
• third-party copywriters

We frequently work with trusted third-parties who can help provide specialist content – and we’re always happy to collaborate with incumbent specialists too.

Following project build, content integration, and feedback (which, in some cases, follows a circular process back to further development), we then run through a comprehensive pre-launch test programme on every site we build. This testing aims to ensure that the site is effective, usable, and reliable across as wide a range of platforms and browsers as feasible.

Our 40-point ‘pre-flight’ list is updated regularly, and covers features such as:

• cross-browser compatibility
• mobile (‘responsive’) compliance
• content optimisation, Google sitemaps, analytics
• functionality tests – custom scripting, contact forms, data gathering, etc

We’ll never launch a site unless a pre-flight list has been submitted.

Launching a new site is typically a case of updating the database to use the correct domain name, and pointing the domain name servers (DNS) at our server. While it’s not always quite as simple as this, we’ve launched hundreds of projects under varyingly complex circumstances, and we’re well versed with website and email setup!

Once a site is launched, there’s typically a delay of up to 72 hours while servers around the world ‘propagate’ – catching up with the new address and serving it to users.We keep a watchful eye on new launches to make sure they appear successfully, before performing final live tests as soon as the site appears.

Post-launch, we review each and every project to ensure:

• all proposed tasks have been completed
• project goals, timescales and budgets have been met
• any additions to the original brief have been covered
• our clients are happy.

But no project ever ends at this point…

We provide ongoing support and guidance for the vast majority of our clients, as well as looking after web hosting, backups and security. We don’t charge a set yearly maintenance fee or retainer – but instead carry out updates and support on a case-by-case basis on request. For some clients, we also offer a Service Level Agreement (SLA) to ensure peace of mind that we’re on-hand when we’re needed most.