4-week website design process

What is the one thing we hear new clients say about their old web developers?

  • “I waited more than 8 months for my site to go live.”
  • “It took me 6-weeks just to get a few pictures up.”
  • “Our designer never answered our emails.” (No joke. Clients seriously say this.)

At Canopy Media, we take the guesswork out of your website design or redesign.

Here’s how it works.

Phase 1: Design

This is the initial phase of the website design, where we design the homepage of the website as per the reference information shared by the client. Here, we share the design as a JPEG.

Requirements from the client for this phase:

  • Content and images
  • Contact information
  • Social media links
  • Reference URL or rough draft design
  • Colour preference
  • Marketing collateral (logos, brochures, etc.)
  • Domain and hosting details

Phase 2: HTML Version

After the approval of the design, we create the HTML version of the home page and two other internal pages to show the responsive version, scrolling effects and the animation on the website.

Requirements from the client for this phase:

  • Content and images (if not already shared)

Phase 3: Development

This is the main phase of the website build, where we develop the entire website in the finalized framework and technology. This is the most time-consuming phase of the website development process.

Requirements from the client for this phase:

  • API/Plugin details (if applicable)

Phase 4: Quality Testing

After completing the development of the website, we perform the quality check on the website based on the finalized campaign deliverables and the testing parameters. See our quality control checklist attached below.

Phase 5: Site Launch

After receiving client approval, we begin the process of launching the website.

Requirements from the client for this phase:

  • domain and hosting details (if not already shared)

Phase 6: Post-Launch Cleanup and Testing

This step is performed after launching the website, to ensure that:

  1. Placeholder content is removed and replaced with the client details.
  2. The site is running properly on the client server.
  3. Basic SEO elements are included, such as:
    1. meta title and description
    2. XML sitemap
    3. canonicalization
    4. site usage tracking (Google Analytics)

Quality Control Checklist

  • Add the reCAPTCHA field to all contact forms
  • Ensure form submission errors provide clear instructions
  • Submit contact form tests to ensure proper function and forms are successfully delivered to the client’s email address
  • Ensure search engines can index the website once the website is live
  • Install and test site usage tracking code using real-time (if applicable, Google Analytics account required)
  • Track all form submissions and purchases (if applicable) as events in analytics
  • Ensure all development URLs and any broken links are fixed or removed
  • Ensure all website assets are loading from the live site (remove development URLs)
  • Website responsiveness and browser compatibility testing
  • Set default address to non-www version, ensure all versions redirect appropriately
  • Resolve any canonical issues
  • Ensure SSL certificate is active, website loads securely and traffic to HTTP is redirected to HTTPS
  • Add website icon using the client’s logo
  • Ensure all placeholder content is removed
  • Ensure social links open in new tabs
  • Ensure robots.txt is generated automatically
  • Ensure website pages are crawlable using the Search Console
  • Run website performance tests
  • Implement schema as per schema.org based on the most relevant category
  • Activate security settings
  • Mask website login URL

Notes

  • Once we have your approval to launch the new website we run our pre-launch tasks, testing responsiveness and compatibility. This process typically takes a few days.
  • It’s our policy not to launch new websites on Fridays.
  • After going live, we continue testing and complete our post-launch tasks, including testing forms and tracking details. This process typically takes a couple of days.