Last updated: May 2026
You have decided to invest in a professional website. You have never done this before and you are not sure what to expect. Will it take months? Will you need to make hundreds of decisions? Will there be jargon you do not understand? This guide walks through the process from first contact to live site in plain English.
In brief: A typical web design process has five phases: discovery (understanding your business), wireframing (planning the structure), design (creating the visual look), development (building the code), and launch (going live). The whole process takes four to eight weeks for most business websites. You will be involved throughout. Good studios show you real work early and iterate based on your feedback.
Phase 1: Discovery (week 1)
This is the conversation phase. The designer asks you about your business, your customers, your competitors, and your goals. This is not a formality. It is the most important week of the project.
You will be asked questions like: What does your business do? Who are your ideal customers? Who are your main competitors? What do you like about their websites? What do you dislike? What do you want visitors to do when they land on your site?
There are no wrong answers. The designer is not testing you. They are trying to understand your world so they can design something that works in it. Be honest. If you do not know the answer to something, say so. If you have strong opinions about something, share them. This conversation shapes everything that follows.
Phase 2: Wireframing (week 1 to 2)
Wireframes are structural layouts that show what goes on each page and in what order. They look like grey boxes with placeholder text. They are not pretty. That is intentional.
The purpose of wireframes is to decide what information appears on each page, in what order, before anyone starts thinking about colours, fonts, and images. It is much cheaper to rearrange grey boxes than to rearrange finished designs.
You will be asked to review wireframes and give feedback. Focus on content and structure, not visual style. Does the homepage communicate what you do? Is the most important information visible without scrolling? Does the page flow make sense for your customers?
Phase 3: Design (weeks 2 to 4)
This is where the wireframes become visual. Colours, typography, imagery, and brand personality are applied. Good studios show you designs in the browser, not as static PDFs. This means you see exactly how the site will look and feel on desktop and mobile, with real interactions.
Expect to see two to three design directions in the early exploration. These are not finished designs. They are options. You react honestly: what feels right, what feels wrong, what is close but not quite there. The designer refines based on your feedback.
This phase works best when feedback is continuous, not batched. If you wait two weeks to review, the project stalls. If you respond within a day or two, the design evolves quickly and naturally. Most studios do not work in formal "revision rounds." They iterate in real time.
Phase 4: Development (weeks 3 to 6)
The approved designs are built into working code. On well-run projects, development starts before design is fully complete: early pages are built while later pages are still being designed. This parallel workflow is what keeps projects on a six to eight week timeline.
During development, final content is placed, forms are connected, analytics is set up, and SEO foundations are implemented. You may be asked to provide final text, images, and any other materials during this phase. The faster you provide content, the smoother this phase runs.
You will see the site on a staging URL (a private preview link) where you can review the work in progress. Check it on your phone. Read the copy. Click every link. Fill out the contact form. Note anything that seems off.
Phase 5: Launch (week 6 to 8)
The site goes live. This involves configuring DNS (pointing your domain to the new site), activating SSL (the security certificate that enables HTTPS), submitting the sitemap to Google, and performing final cross-browser testing.
A good studio does not launch and disappear. Expect a post-launch check within 24 hours to catch any issues, a performance review in the first week, and a plan for ongoing maintenance. Read about retainer options (/thinking/website-retainer-cost) for what ongoing support typically includes.
What you need to provide
Your time and honest feedback. That is the most important contribution. Beyond that, the studio may need your logo and brand assets (if you have them), text content for each page (or agreement to include copywriting in the scope), photographs or imagery, access to your domain registrar, and access to any existing analytics or Search Console accounts.
If you do not have content ready, discuss this upfront. Many studios include copywriting as part of the project or can recommend a writer. Waiting for content is the single most common cause of project delays.
Frequently asked questions
How much involvement does a web design project require from me?
Expect to spend three to five hours total on feedback and reviews across the project. The most intensive week is the first (discovery). After that, you are reviewing work and providing feedback, which typically takes one to two hours per week.
What if I do not like the design direction?
Say so. Honestly and specifically. "I do not like it" is not helpful. "The colours feel too corporate for our audience" or "the layout does not emphasise our main service enough" gives the designer something to work with. Good studios expect and welcome honest feedback.
Do I need to understand web design to give feedback?
No. You understand your business and your customers. That is the expertise you bring. The designer handles the design expertise. Your job is to react honestly: does this feel right for my business? Does this communicate what I want to communicate?
What happens if the project goes over the agreed timeline?
On well-run projects, timeline overruns are usually caused by delayed client feedback or late content provision. The studio should communicate any delays and their impact. If the studio causes the delay through poor project management, that is a concern worth addressing directly.
Can I make changes after the site launches?
Yes. Most studios offer post-launch support through retainers. Minor content changes, bug fixes, and updates are typically included. Larger changes (new pages, new features) are scoped and quoted separately. See our retainer pricing (/pricing).
Sources
- Design Council UK, Design Process Guide: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk (https://www.designcouncil.org.uk)
- Pixelish, UK Website Guide 2026: https://www.pixelish.co.uk/cost-of-website-build/ (https://www.pixelish.co.uk/cost-of-website-build/)