How small agencies run client website builds
Start with the stage you're in. The topics follow a build from the first call to the last invoice.
Starting a client site build
What to ask, collect and settle before a client build starts.
- Web design client onboarding: the steps from yes to kickoff
The web design client onboarding process in order: what to send after a client says yes, from paperwork and first payment to the questionnaire and access.
- How to kick off a website project with a client
How to kick off a website project with a client: who joins the meeting, what goes on the agenda, and which choices get settled before any build work begins.
- Questions to ask a client before you build their website
Questions to ask a client before building their website, asked on the first call before you quote: their goals, must-haves, deadline and who makes the call.
- Website discovery questions for a new client build
Website discovery questions for the session after a client signs: who the site serves, what it must do, what it replaces, and how answers turn into a brief.
- Website design client questionnaire: what to ask before a build
Build a website design client questionnaire the client fills in alone: which questions to ask in writing, how long the form should be, and PDF or online.
- Website requirements template: what the site must do, in writing
A website requirements template for client builds: functional and technical needs to write down, how to gather them, and who signs off before work starts.
- Website design client checklist: what to collect from a client
A website design client checklist that lists the brand files, words, photos, logins and domain your client supplies, plus the owner's own duties.
Planning the build
Each stage of a build, put in writing, with the dates it runs on.
- The web design process, stage by stage
The web design process, stage by stage, as your clients see it. Learn the first step, what each stage covers, and how to explain your process on your site.
- The website development process, from plan to launch
The website development process inside your team, from plan to launch: the steps, who does what, and how a WordPress build or an online store changes them.
- Web design process template: the stages an agency repeats
Turn your web design process into a template you reuse on every client build: the stages, the owner of each one, and the files each stage should produce.
- Website development timeline template
A website development timeline template sets the order of each phase and marks the points where you wait on the client. See how to lay one out in Excel.
Managing the build
Running one build, and many at once, without losing track.
- Web design project management for a small agency
Web design project management for a small agency: who does what on one client build, how to hold the scope, and how to handle change requests and updates.
- Website project management checklist
A website project management checklist with a tick list for each phase of a client build, how to run it every week, and how to track each deliverable.
- Web design workflow: how a small agency moves a site from brief to launch
What a web design workflow looks like inside a small agency: the hand-offs, statuses and board that move a site from brief to launch, and where Trello fits.
- Agency project management: what a small agency needs
Agency project management for a small team running many client projects at once: taking work in, setting priorities, picking tools, and the weekly meeting.
Reviews, sign-off and launch
The checks and the client's yes before a site goes live.
- Client approval process: getting sign-off on a site at each stage
A client approval process for website builds: how to get a written yes at each stage, how to collect feedback, and what useful client feedback looks like.
- Website QA checklist: what to check before a client site goes live
A website QA checklist for your team to run before a client site goes live: the pre-launch checks, who reviews the site in house, and keeping it in Excel.
- Website content checklist for a new site
A website content checklist to confirm every page's words, images and details are complete before launch, with who signs off each item and a PDF option.
Handover and ownership
Who owns the site, and the steps to give it to the client.
- Web design contract: the parts that set who owns the site
What a web design contract should include so ownership is clear: who owns the site, code, domain and logins, and how ownership moves to your client.
- How to hand a WordPress site over to a client
How to deliver a WordPress website to a client: moving the site into their account, handing over logins on a checklist, and the handover email to send.
- WordPress client dashboard: what to give a client when the site is done
What a WordPress client dashboard should show once the site is theirs, how to customize it for a client, and what a client management plugin can do for you.
- How to add a client portal to a WordPress site
How to create a client portal in WordPress: the ways to add one, whether you need a plugin, options for other platforms, and the privacy policy it needs.
Proposals and invoices
The paperwork that wins a build and gets it paid.
- Web design proposal template: what to put in one
The parts of a web design proposal template that win client builds, how to answer a request for proposal, and whether a proposal generator is worth it.
- Web design invoice template: what to put on it
A web design invoice template with the fields and lines every invoice for site work needs, plus what a sample invoice for web design services shows.
- How to write a web design invoice
How to write a web design invoice and get it paid: the steps from a finished stage to a paid bill, plus how to invoice a client who pays for a site monthly.
- Web design quote template
A web design quote template for a one-page price: what the quote lists, how it differs from a full proposal, and how to work out the numbers yourself.
Growing a small web agency
Finding clients, adding hands and selling sites by the month.
- How to scale a web design business without stalling
How to scale a web design business so the owner stops doing every build: tighten the process, build the team, and compare the ways to add more hands.
- How to get web design clients
How to get web design clients for a small agency: where new site clients come from, how to win local and higher-paying ones, and whether to buy leads.
- Website as a service: how agencies sell sites by the month
Website as a service explained for agencies: how the WaaS model works, what a WaaS agency is, and whether steady monthly income is worth the support load.
- Website builder reseller: how reselling a builder works
How a website builder reseller program works for an agency, what a white label website builder includes, and which builders offer white label plans.
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