Process
Seven stages, and you always know which one you are in.
The seven stages
Discover
Understand the business before proposing anything.
Plan
Agree scope, structure and price before design starts.
Design
Design the pages or screens people will actually use.
Build
Build in working increments, not one long silence.
Test
Test the things that break quietly.
Launch
Go live without a gap.
Support
Keep it working as the business changes.
Stage by stage
What happens, what you get, and what we need.
Every stage ends with something you can hold: a document, a design, a preview environment, or a working system.
Stage 01
Discover
We start with how the business actually runs, not with what it wants built. That means walking the current process, finding where information stalls, and separating the problem from the solution somebody has already assumed. For applications this stage is paid, because doing it properly takes days rather than an hour.
- You receive
- A written summary of the problem, the current process and the constraints.
- We need
- Time with whoever does the work today — not only whoever signs off on it.
Stage 02
Plan
Scope is written down in plain language: what is included, what is not, what depends on a third party, and what happens if that third party says no. For applications this produces a technical specification and a fixed-scope proposal. Nothing moves forward until you have both.
- You receive
- Scope document, milestones and a fixed price or a clearly bounded range.
- We need
- Decisions on scope, and confirmation of anything that involves another vendor.
Stage 03
Design
Design is reviewed on the device it will be used on. A website is checked on a phone first. An application screen is designed around the conditions it will be used in — one hand, poor light, in a hurry — because that is where interfaces fail.
- You receive
- Reviewed design of every page or screen, on desktop and mobile.
- We need
- Consolidated feedback in one round rather than in fragments.
Stage 04
Build
Work is deployed to a preview environment you can open at any time. For larger projects, each milestone produces something you can use rather than a status update. Surprises get raised while they are still cheap.
- You receive
- A preview environment, updated continuously, with milestone check-ins.
- We need
- Content, images and access to any system we need to connect to.
Stage 05
Test
Forms are submitted, links are checked, permissions are tested from each role, and the site is run through accessibility and performance checks. For applications we deliberately test the failure paths: what happens when a third party is down, a payment is declined, or two people edit the same record.
- You receive
- A testing summary covering what was checked and what was fixed.
- We need
- A run-through from someone who will use it daily.
Stage 06
Launch
The existing site stays up until the new one is approved. We connect the domain, confirm SSL, submit the sitemap, verify Search Console and check that every redirect resolves. For applications, launch is staged rather than switched, with the old process running in parallel until the new one has proven itself.
- You receive
- A live site or application, with DNS, SSL, analytics and search setup verified.
- We need
- Domain registrar access, or the ability to add DNS records.
Stage 07
Support
Software degrades if nobody watches it. Support covers hosting, monitoring, dependency and security updates, and an agreed allowance of changes each month. It is optional, and priced so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
- You receive
- Monitoring, updates, an agreed change allowance and performance reporting.
- We need
- A single point of contact for change requests.
Questions
What clients ask before the first stage.
How long does a project take?
A one-page website is usually two to three weeks from the point content is supplied; a multi-page site three to six weeks. Applications depend entirely on scope and are given a milestone schedule in the proposal. The most common cause of delay on any project is waiting for content and approvals.
What do you need from us?
Time with the people who do the work, not only the people who sign off on it. Content and images. Access to any system we need to connect to. And consolidated feedback in one round rather than in fragments over a fortnight.
Can we see it before it goes live?
Yes. Everything is deployed to a preview environment you can open at any time from the moment the build starts. There is no long silence followed by a reveal.
What happens if the scope changes?
Small changes inside the agreed scope are absorbed. Anything that changes the shape of the project is written up, priced, and only starts once you approve it. Nothing gets added to an invoice you have not seen coming.
What if we want to stop?
You pay for the milestones completed and you keep everything produced up to that point, including the discovery specification if there is one.
Stage one is free.
A consultation is the first half of Discover. If it turns out you do not need what we sell, that is a legitimate outcome and it costs you nothing.