Website Design - How it Works

The process is actually pretty simple, it begins with a form. You can either download it as an interactive PDF, or fill it in online.

The form will help you gather together the information we need to give you a quote, from there you can decide if you’d like to continue or not.

If you go ahead with the quote I’ll begin work on a first mock-up, which will be an image file that sketches out rough ideas for your site. I’ll send the mock-up to you to review, you let me know what you do and don’t like and I revise it.

Once we have a basic design you’re happy with, I’ll move on to preliminary coding, this is where I start to create actual web pages, so you can start to see how navigation will work, and how other interactive elements look. Again this is a process of review and revise until we have a good looking sample page.

With the sample page approved I then begin adding your content and creating the individual pages and the overall site structure. I’ll then send you a link to a “test site” where you can see what your site will look like running on a webserver. At this stage we pick-up on any little tweaks or amendments that are required.

When I have your final approval I will deliver your website either on removable media (such as a CD or DVD) or, if you prefer, I will upload it to your domain for you.

And there you have it, one shiny new website!

Payment

Unlike a lot of web designers I don’t expect full payment, or a large percentage, up front. Instead I spread the cost of your website across the development process (one-page sites are handled slightly differently, I’ll let you know when I send you the quote), that way you don’t have to fork out a lot in one go, and I can afford to feed the cat :-)

If you decide to go ahead with the quote, I’ll ask you to pay £25 as a deposit before I start work (I have to do this because there are a lot of time-wasters who try to get work for nothing - sorry). I’ll then invoice for a third of the remainder after you have approved each stage. So that’s a third after you approve the image mock-up, another third after you approve the preliminary coding and the final third when you give final approval for the site.

Because you don’t pay all of it up-front, you can walk away at any stage, without either of us being out of pocket, I’ll simply send you the work I have done so far (for the payment I have already received) and you are free to take it to another designer, use it yourself, or stick it in the bin if you like.

My preferred payment method is via PayPal, it’s secure and easy to use. If, for some reason, PayPal is unsuitable for you, then please contact me before I start work on your project so that an alternative payment method can be agreed