I typically deal with two types of clients – agencies and small to medium sized businesses. My development process can vary greatly based on the client type and what is expected from my end. Below is a snapshot of my typical process.
Booking the project
There are a few things we need to do before we book your project. Let’s walk through those items first:
Scoping the project
The first step of any project is a review of the project scope. This will typically include a discovery call to go over my role in the project, the full scope of what is needed, the anticipated timeline and any other high-level details about the project.
Quoting the project
With the details of the project ironed out I will provide a detailed quote that will include everything that is included in the project as well as a price range. The range will account for the possible design variations and how complexity of design will add to development cost. If the design is already compete, the quote will be a fixed number.
Contract & Scheduling
When the quote is approved I will provide a formal contract that lays out all of my normal terms and provide a deposit invoice. Deposits are typically 50% of the quote and must be paid prior to the project being added to my schedule. Once the contract is signed and the deposit is paid the project will officially be added to my schedule.
Pre-Project Setup
Now that the project is officially scheduled I will get some things out of the way in preparation for the project.
Site Audit
Once I have admin access to the site I will do a full audit of pages, posts and plugins. I will provide a spreadsheet of all items and make suggestions on what to keep, remove and/or redirect. This will allow us to only keep what we need and start with a clean site when development begins.
Shared Google Drive
I will provide access to a shared Google Drive folder that will include a “Working Doc”, tutorials documentation, a go-live checklist and any other site-specific materials. This is also the ideal place for you to share site assets in a centralized location. I will go over the “Working Doc” in more detail prior to the project start as this is a key document for the build process.
Access Requests
I will request all needed logins (WordPress admin, host, domain registrar, plugins, etc…) prior to project kickoff and store them in the Working Doc for easy access when the project begins. Getting this step out of the way early ensures we don’t delay kickoff while waiting for some login information.
Design Phase (optional)
If the project does not have a design ready-to-go we’ll work directly with my design partner through the design phase. If your project already has a design ready-to-go, we’ll skip this step. The design process would be done primary with my design partner and would include:
- Discovery call with my design partner to go over the details of the project
- A design questionnaire where you provide details about what you are looking for in the new design
- You provide any needed logos, colors, brand guides that will help guide design
- Wire-frames to show the new site layout prior to full design execution
- Full design execution for key pages, menus, header, footer and any other discussed areas
- Design revision round using your feedback to refine the design to perfection
The full design phase can take 4-6 weeks depending on the scope of the project and much of this work will be done directly with my design partner.
Development Phase
Once designs are ready-to-go we will move into development. My typical development process includes:
Clone Site
The first step of development is to clone the production site to my local development environment. This ensures all pages, posts, media, users, etc… aren’t lost in the development process. This is typically a good point to freeze content changes on the production site.
Build New Design
Now is when your new site will start to come to life. I will build out the design in your bespoke theme piece by piece, providing video updates along the way so you can follow progress.
Preview in Staging
Once the initial development is complete I will migrate the local site to a staging environment so you can preview/review the site exactly how it will look when we go live.
QA & Revisions
Now that you have access to the staging site you will do a formal QA and provide a list of any needed changes/adjustments needed. This can include anything from copy modifications to new pictures to things I may have messed up!
Final Revisions
I will go through your QA/revision notes and make any final tweaks needed for your approval. You will also have full access at this time to make any content/image/etc…updates needed prior to go-live. If you added any new content to your live site, this would be the time to copy it over to the staging site so it isn’t lost at go-live.
Launch
We’ll pick a date/time that works for everyone and I’ll take the site live! Depending on your host/setup and if you are moving to a new host this may or may not mean your site will be down for a short time. Once it is complete I’ll email you and let you know the site is up! Note the final balance is due prior to launch.
Development typically takes 2-4 weeks, but may take longer based on the full scope of the project. Your site will be mobile and SEO friendly using a bespoke WordPress theme built specifically for you to ensure lean code and blazing fast speed.
Official Handoff
With your new site up and running I will officially hand the site back over to you. We’ll make sure you have a care plan in place if needed and I will provide all tutorials documentation and any other information you may need to ensure you have full access to your new site. Additionally, I will typically provide some before/after performance screenshots to show the improvement in your sites speed.
And after that…
We’re done, enjoy your new site!
Interested in working together?
I’d love to learn more about your and your project. Complete the form using the button below and I’ll get back to you soon (typically within a day!).
Development Process FAQs
I’m typically booked out at least 4-6 weeks, but sometimes can start sooner. It all depends on my currently schedule projects.
Absolutely. At least 50% of my projects are taking already existing designs and bringing them to life. Contact me and we can set up a time to chat.
Figma and Sketch are my preferred design formats. Adobe XD is good as well. I will work with older design types as well if needed (like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator) but they may raise the cost of the project a bit as they aren’t nearly as developer friendly as newer design formats.
Sure! 50% isn’t always required, especially for larger projects or projects that won’t be starting for quite a while. I am happy to negotiate the deposit amount. Many larger project do a 25/25/50 split with a 25% deposit, 25% at project start and 50% at project completion.
Yes. All of those fees will be laid out in the contract provided prior to scheduling.
Yep. I prefer the “Google Docs” approach, but I’ve worked with a variety of project management tools from ClickUp to Monday to Asana to Basecamp and I’m happy to acclimate to your preferred project management tool if needed.
For the most part, yes. I strongly suggest a WordPress-focused host like WPEngine or Flywheel, but I am happy to help get your site to the host of your choice.