A standardized, comprehensive web design timeline can be a very useful tool for digital marketing agencies and web pros during the onboarding of new website customers. It’s especially helpful when working with high-touch clients because a web design timeline cements goals and expectations for everyone involved and ensures a successful launch or relaunch of a website.
The following outline can be used as an effective guide for planning an efficient web design timeline for you and your clients:
And now, let's take a moment to dive in to each one...
As you begin formulating a web design timeline, take a moment to carefully consider the steps necessary to accomplish your project goals. Ask yourself the following questions:
Next, curate the site’s goals (and subsequently, its design) to the brand or company’s needs. To better understand how to do so, take a moment to see what competitors are doing. A bit of market research can help you understand where others in your client's market may be failing or succeeding. With this in mind, you'll be much better equipped to design a successful website.
The first step in design is a successful design process is to produce a creative brief that clearly outlines the goals you established in Step 1. The creative brief is a quintessential part of your web design timeline; it will guide web developers and designers as they draft mock-ups and assemble the bones for the site you are creating.
When the first drafts or mock-ups are complete, take a moment to ensure that they adhere to the goals you’ve established for the brand. Walk through each of the web pages as if you were a prospective consumer. Is the homepage engaging, inviting and easily navigable? Is the site optimized for both desktop and mobile? Is it obvious where to post questions, comments or concerns? These are the questions to ask your team as you begin designing a site.
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Allocate a significant amount of time in your web design timeline to create quality content. Quality benefits a site in two ways:
While this process may take a significant amount of time and effort, do not underestimate the power of well-informed content. If you don't have on-staff writers with SEO experience available, consider using freelance services to hire writers who can work part time or on a project-to-project basis. Seek out writers who have experience creating web content. This part of your web design timeline should be entirely dedicated to building a foundation for your site. The stronger that foundation, the stronger your site’s presence online will be.
Content for your site should include headlines, titles, and/or captions for products or services. These bodies of text should both inform and engage prospective buyers and be written in a voice that reflects your client’s brand. Keep web copy concise, consistent and in-line with the creative brief drafted in step two. Imagine the site as an extension of the brand or company you are working for. Everything on the site should look and feel like it comes from the same place.
The development of a website should only begin after you and your team have successfully:
A sitemap is a list of pages hosted on a website. Beyond the sitemaps used by web designers during ‘Research and Planning’, there are two kinds of sitemaps your website may employ:
A quality sitemap is the framework on which a successful website is built. Once it is completed, you and your team are ready to begin bringing the site to life.
At this point in your web design timeline, beta testing is needed to ensure a seamless experience for future users. In order to implement successful beta testing, consider hiring a professional to locate and observe individuals from the site’s target market. These individuals should be encouraged to offer feedback and suggestions. This valuable intel will ensure that the site you are building is optimized for launch day.
Additional beta testing can be conducted by a trained UX (User Experience) professional. These individuals will dissect your creative brief and your sitemap to ensure that they work in tandem to accomplish the goals for your site.
After you have completed Beta Testing, consider taking a few days to sit down with your team, review your progress, and make any necessary changes to the site before it’s launched. Your review should be a thorough overview of everything on the site, as well as a game-plan for launch day.
Things to consider during the review process are:
Congratulations! You’ve successfully made it to launch day. You’ve reached the end of your web design timeline and successfully implemented your website development project plan. While the development process is not always easy, a successful launch is a rewarding experience and worthy of celebration.
As you prepare for launch, ensure that all digital marketing services dedicated to your site are ready to go. Touch base with your web developer(s) and confirm that they are standing by to solve any issues that may arise during launch. Once you’ve done so, it is time to publish the website. Take a moment and relish in your success!
Note: When you publish a website with Duda, it will automatically be encrypted with an SSL certificate and optimized for SEO best practices.
Whether you run a digital marketing agency or work as a freelance web designer, it is highly recommended to schedule periodic reviews of your customers’ websites. As your operation and/or clientele grow and evolve, it’s important to check back in with customers to ensure they’re caught up with the latest digital trends and happy with their service.
Following our suggested web design timeline will help you efficiently manage your workflow as you release or re-release websites for your customers. Don’t forget that some parts of the above web design timeline can overlap (e.g., design and content creation). Feel free to adapt the various stages to whatever works best for you and your team. And be sure to remember throughout the entire process, web design is where creativity meets technology, beauty meets function, and customers meet brands. A touch of passion goes a long way! Now go forth, and design!
