From brief to launch: the seven stages of a website project

Most website projects that disappoint do not fail because of code. They fail because a step was rushed or skipped: goals were never agreed, the structure was improvised, or testing was left to the final afternoon. A dependable process prevents that. Here are the seven stages we follow, and what each one is for.

1. Gathering information: purpose and audience

This exploratory stage decides how every later step should look. The aim is a clear picture of the website's goals, the core outcomes you want to achieve and the audience you want to attract. A short discovery questionnaire and a conversation about competitors usually reveal more than any design trend.

By the end of this stage, everyone should be able to answer: who is this website for, and what should they do when they arrive?

2. Planning: sitemap and wireframes

Using what was learned in discovery, we create a sitemap — a map of the main areas of the site and how they relate. It shows how easily a visitor can reach the right information starting from the home page, and is the foundation of a site that is simple to navigate.

A sitemap explains structure but not interface, so the next artefact is a wireframe: a simple drawing of each key page that shows which elements appear and where, without colours or imagery. Wireframes are quick and inexpensive to change, which is exactly why they come before visual design.

3. Design: layouts, review and approval

Now the website takes shape visually. Colours, typography, icons and imagery are applied to the wireframes to create page layouts that reflect your brand and the needs of your audience.

Design is iterative. You review the layouts, share feedback and we refine them. That cycle continues until you are completely satisfied — before development begins, when changes are still cheap.

4. Content writing and assembly

Content usually overlaps with other stages, and its importance is easy to underestimate. This is where your message is written for your audience: headlines, page copy and calls to action, along with editing and compiling existing material.

Good content is ready before — or at least while — the site is built, not pasted in the night before launch.

5. Coding

With approved designs and content, development begins. Typically the home page is built first, followed by sub-pages according to the sitemap. A content management system is configured so your team can maintain the site, and any special features or integrations are added.

Search engine optimisation also starts here. Clean, semantic code, sensible page titles and descriptions and fast-loading pages all help a site rank. We build on a staging server so you can watch progress live.

6. Testing, review and launch

Every page, link and form is checked. We look for typos, validate code against web standards, test on multiple browsers and devices and confirm the site is fast and accessible. Only then is the site deployed to the live server, followed by a final round of checks to make sure everything arrived intact.

7. Maintenance: monitoring and regular updates

A website is more like a process than a product. It is not enough to deliver it; it must keep running well. Monitoring helps spot problems that affect visitors, and the critical thing is to resolve them quickly — otherwise customers simply choose a site that does not frustrate them.

Regular updates, security patches, backups and content improvements keep the site useful long after launch day.

The takeaway

Whether you work with us or another team, ask to see how each of these stages will be handled. A partner who can explain their process clearly is far more likely to deliver a website that works for your business.