Our Web Design Process, Step by Step

Getting a website built is one thing. Getting one that actually works for your business is another. The difference, in most cases, comes down to process: how much thought goes in before anyone opens a design tool, and how clearly the goals are defined before a line of code is written.

Here is how we work through every web design project in Lincoln from first conversation to live site.

Phase 1: Discovery

Before anything is designed or built, we need to understand your business, your customers, and what success looks like for this project.

In our discovery session, we cover:

• What the business does and who the ideal customers are
• What the current site (if there is one) does well and where it fails
• What the primary goal of the new site is (lead generation, bookings, ecommerce, brand credibility)
• Any technical constraints (existing systems to integrate, domain setup, email hosting)
• Timeline, budget, and any hard deadlines

This session typically takes an hour. We come to it with questions prepared, not a sales deck.

The output is a written brief that we both sign off on. This brief becomes the reference point for every decision made during the project. If someone later asks “why did we put the testimonials above the contact form?” the answer should always trace back to something in the brief.

Why Discovery Matters More Than Most Clients Expect

Most websites that underperform do so because the goals were never made explicit. The site was built around what the owner wanted to say rather than what the customer needs to see. A proper discovery session reorients the project around the customer journey from the start.

Phase 2: Design

With the brief signed off, we move into design.

We start with wireframes, low-fidelity layouts that define the page structure, content hierarchy, and flow of each key page. These are deliberately rough. The goal is to establish what goes where before investing in how it looks. Wireframes are quick to iterate and easy to critique.

Once the structure is agreed, we move into visual design. This is where brand, colour, typography, and tone come together. We produce a visual concept covering the homepage and one interior page template. You get to see the direction before we commit to it.

After feedback and revisions, designs are signed off. Only then does the build begin.

What “Design Approval” Actually Means

Signing off a design means the layout, visual style, typography, and colour application are agreed. It doesn’t lock in every pixel of every page. There will always be minor adjustments as real content is applied. But it does mean we’re not going to redesign the navigation because someone prefers a different style after the build has started.

Phase 3: Build

We build on Astro, a modern static-site framework that produces extremely fast, clean HTML. This is not a WordPress theme. There is no plugin layer. The result is a lean, performant site that scores well on Core Web Vitals and is straightforward to maintain.

During the build phase:

• Pages are built out from the agreed designs
• Content is integrated (your text, images, and any embedded tools)
• SEO fundamentals are baked in: meta titles and descriptions, structured data where appropriate, sitemap, image optimisation
• The site is tested across devices and browsers

We run performance and accessibility checks before anything is presented to you.

Content Integration

This is often where projects slow down, and it is the single most predictable cause of delays. If you can have final content ready when the build starts, the project moves quickly. If content is still being written while we’re building, it extends the timeline.

We’re flexible on this (we can build with placeholder copy and swap in final content later) but we’ll always be honest about the timeline implications.

Phase 4: Review and Launch

Before launch, you get a staging preview. This is the full site on a live URL (not your production domain) so you can click through everything, test on your own devices, and share with colleagues.

We collate all feedback into a single revision pass. Minor copy changes and small layout tweaks are expected. Fundamental restructuring at this stage is a scope conversation.

Once everything is approved, we handle the go-live: domain configuration, SSL, final redirects, and Netlify deployment. We stay available in the hours after launch to catch any edge cases.

Pre-Launch Checklist (a Snapshot)

• All pages load correctly across Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and mobile
• Contact forms submit and send to the right inbox
• Google Analytics or equivalent is firing
• The sitemap is submitted to Google Search Console
• Canonical URLs and redirects are in place

Phase 5: Support

Launch is not the end.

In the weeks after a site goes live, questions come up: a team member wants to change the opening hours, a new service needs adding, or Google Search Console flags something to investigate. We offer structured support to handle these without leaving you stuck.

For clients who want it, we also offer an ongoing partnership: regular performance reviews, SEO monitoring, content updates, and planned improvements. The best websites are maintained and improved over time, not built once and forgotten.

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If this sounds like the kind of process you want behind your next project, explore our web design services for Lincoln businesses or read more on the web design hub.