What to Expect When Working With a Web Designer

If you've never had a website built before, the whole thing can feel a bit mysterious. You know you need one, but what actually happens between getting in touch and seeing your finished site? I've been through this process hundreds of times over the past 20 years, and I know the uncertainty can put people off even making that first enquiry. So let me walk you through exactly what working with a web designer looks like — or at least, what it looks like when you work with me.

Step 1: The Initial Conversation

Everything starts with a chat. This isn't a sales pitch — it's a genuine conversation about your business, your goals, and what you're hoping a website will do for you. I want to understand who your customers are, what makes your business different, and what problems your current website (if you have one) is causing you.

This usually happens over the phone, on a video call, or over a coffee if you're local to Moray. It typically lasts around 30 minutes and there's absolutely no obligation. By the end of it, we'll both have a clear idea of whether we're a good fit for each other.

Some things that are useful to think about before we chat:

• What's the main purpose of your website? Generating enquiries, selling products, providing information, building credibility?
• Who are your ideal customers? The more you can tell me about them, the better.
• Are there any websites you like the look of? They don't need to be in your industry — it just helps me understand your taste.
• What's your rough budget and timeline? Being upfront about this helps me tailor my recommendations to what's realistic.

Step 2: The Proposal

After our initial conversation, I'll put together a clear, written proposal. This isn't a vague estimate — it's a detailed breakdown of exactly what I'll build, how long it will take, and what it will cost. No surprises, no hidden extras.

The proposal will typically include:

• A project overview summarising what we discussed and the goals we agreed on.
• A list of pages and features your site will include.
• A fixed price for the entire project.
• A realistic timeline from start to finish.
• Payment terms — usually 50% upfront and 50% on completion. For larger projects, I'll break it into milestones.

I want you to feel completely comfortable before we go any further. If anything isn't clear, ask. There are no silly questions, and I'd rather spend ten minutes explaining something now than have you worrying about it for the next six weeks.

Step 3: Content and Planning

This is the part most people don't expect, and it's arguably the most important stage of the entire project. Before I write a single line of code or design a single page, we need to nail down the content.

A beautiful website with poor content is like a stunning shop with empty shelves. The words on your pages are what convince visitors to pick up the phone, fill in the form, or place an order. So we take this seriously.

If you've got existing content you're happy with, great — we'll work with that. If you'd rather I write it for you, that's something I offer as part of the project. Either way, we'll work through each page together and make sure the messaging is clear, compelling, and written for both your customers and search engines.

"Getting the content right early saves weeks of back-and-forth later. I've seen projects stall for months because the content wasn't planned upfront. A little time invested here pays for itself many times over."

Step 4: Design

Now the fun part. With the content and structure agreed, I'll start designing your website. I design in the browser rather than sending you static mockups — this means you'll see something that looks and feels like a real website from the start, not a flat image that might look completely different when it's actually built.

I'll usually start with the homepage, because it sets the tone for everything else. You'll get to see it, click around, and give me honest feedback. I genuinely mean that — if something isn't right, now is the time to say so. I'd much rather make changes at this stage than after the whole site is built.

A few things I'll be focusing on during the design stage:

• Your brand identity. Colours, fonts, imagery — everything should feel unmistakably yours.
• User experience. Making it intuitive and easy for visitors to find what they need.
• Mobile-first design. Over 60% of web traffic is on mobile, so that's where I start.
• Clear calls to action. Every page should guide visitors towards the next step, whether that's calling you, filling in a form, or making a purchase.

Typically you'll get two rounds of revisions on the design. In my experience, that's usually more than enough — because we've done the groundwork in the earlier stages, there are rarely any major surprises at this point.

Step 5: Development

Once you're happy with the design, I build it. Every line of code is written by hand — no WordPress, no templates, no page builders. This means your site is lean, fast, and built specifically for your needs rather than trying to be everything for everyone.

During development, I'll be working on:

• Clean, semantic HTML and CSS that loads quickly and works across all browsers.
• Responsive behaviour — making sure everything looks and works perfectly on phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops.
• SEO foundations — proper page titles, meta descriptions, heading structure, image optimisation, and schema markup baked in from day one.
• Any custom functionality you need — contact forms, booking systems, galleries, whatever was agreed in the proposal.
• Performance optimisation — I aim for page load times under two seconds.

You won't need to do much during this stage, but I'll keep you updated on progress and share a development link so you can see things taking shape in real time.

Step 6: Review and Testing

Before anything goes live, we test everything thoroughly. I'll go through the entire site on multiple devices and browsers, check every link, test every form, and run performance and accessibility audits.

Then it's your turn. I'll send you a link to the finished site on a staging server and ask you to go through it page by page. Check the content, click every button, fill in the forms, look at it on your phone. If anything needs tweaking, now's the time.

Common things to look out for during review:

• Typos or content changes. Fresh eyes often spot things we both missed earlier.
• Contact details. Make sure your phone number, email, and address are all correct.
• Forms. Submit a test enquiry and check it arrives in your inbox.
• Mobile experience. Does everything feel right when you're using your phone?

Step 7: Launch Day

Once you've signed off, we go live. I'll handle all the technical bits — pointing your domain, setting up hosting, configuring SSL certificates, and making sure everything is working correctly. You don't need to worry about any of that.

I'll also take care of the essentials like submitting your sitemap to Google, setting up Google Analytics if you want it, and making sure your site is being indexed properly. The goal is that from the moment we launch, your website is working hard for your business.

"Launch day should be exciting, not stressful. By the time we get here, you've already seen and approved everything. There are no surprises — just the satisfaction of seeing your new website live."

Step 8: After Launch

A good web designer doesn't disappear the moment your site goes live. I offer ongoing support and maintenance packages to keep your site secure, updated, and performing at its best. But even if you don't take a maintenance package, I'm always here if you need me.

In the weeks after launch, I'd typically recommend:

• Monitoring your analytics. See how visitors are finding you and which pages they're spending time on.
• Gathering feedback. Ask your customers what they think of the new site.
• Keeping content fresh. Regular updates signal to Google that your site is active and relevant.
• Reviewing performance. After a month or two, we can look at the data together and see if anything needs adjusting.

How Long Does It All Take?

Every project is different, but most websites take between 4 and 8 weeks from start to finish. The biggest variable is usually content — if you've got your text, images, and branding ready to go, things move much faster. If we need to create content from scratch, that adds a bit of time, but it's always worth doing properly.

Here's a rough breakdown of a typical project timeline:

• Week 1: Initial conversation, proposal, and agreement.
• Weeks 2–3: Content planning and preparation.
• Weeks 3–4: Design.
• Weeks 4–6: Development.
• Week 6–7: Review, testing, and final tweaks.
• Week 7–8: Launch.

I'll always give you a realistic timeline upfront, and I'll keep you informed if anything changes. I don't take on more work than I can handle, so when I commit to a deadline, I mean it.

What Do You Need to Provide?

People often worry they'll need to hand over a detailed brief or a folder full of professional photography before we can start. You don't. Here's what's actually helpful:

• Your logo (ideally in vector format, but whatever you have will do).
• Any brand guidelines if you have them — colours, fonts, that sort of thing.
• Photos of your business — even phone photos are a starting point. Real photos always beat stock images.
• A rough idea of what pages you want. Don't overthink this — we'll refine it together.
• Access to your domain registrar if you already own a domain name.

If you don't have some of these, that's absolutely fine. Part of my job is helping you figure out what you need and filling in the gaps.

What If Something Goes Wrong?

Let's be honest — things don't always go perfectly on every project. Content takes longer than expected, priorities shift, or you change your mind about a feature halfway through. That's normal, and it's nothing to worry about.

The key is communication. If something's changed on your end, tell me. If I hit a technical challenge that might affect the timeline, I'll tell you. I've been doing this long enough to know that the projects that go smoothest are the ones where both sides are upfront with each other.

If you genuinely hate the design (which has never happened, but hypothetically), we'll talk about it. I'm not precious about my work — the goal is a website that you're proud of and that works for your business. We'll keep going until we get there.

Written by Chris

Web designer and founder of Colourjam. Helping small businesses through the web design process since 2004. Based in Moray, Scotland.