The Process of Commissioning a Corporate Website

Commissioning a corporate website is something most businesses do once every few years. That's why the process doesn't feel familiar: what will be asked, how long it will take, what needs preparing isn't clear from the start. And this uncertainty is the most common reason projects drag on.

How long does a corporate website take?

With content ready, a 5-10 page corporate site typically takes 3-6 weeks. Two factors extend it: late delivery of text and images, and scope that grows mid-project. Changes at the design stage are cheap; the same change after development has started noticeably increases both cost and schedule.

What you need to prepare before starting

The one thing that speeds up the project is not the agency's speed but your preparation. If the following are missing, the process inevitably drags on.

Purpose. What is the site for? Collecting quotes, selling products, building brand trust, receiving job applications — these are very different sites. "Let's have a nice site" is not a purpose and gives the designer no direction.

Content. Texts, product/service descriptions, team details, references. "The content isn't ready yet" is at the top of the reasons projects are delayed. Design can be done with placeholder text, but you can't go live without content.

Images. Corporate photos, team photos, product images, logo files. You must have the vector version of your logo (SVG, AI or EPS); if you only have a small PNG, the logo looks blurry everywhere.

Domain and access. Whose account is the domain in? Who has the current hosting details? These details should be clear from the start so they don't cause problems on launch day.

Examples you like. Show three to five sites and say what you like about them. The sentence "I liked the simplicity of this site" is more instructive than pages of brief.

Stages

1. Discovery and planning

We discuss what the business is, who it addresses and which pages will be needed. The output is a sitemap: which pages there will be and which information sits where.

Competitor review is also done at this stage. The aim is not to copy but not to miss expectations that have become standard in the sector.

2. Design

The home page is designed first and approved; then the inner pages. Proceeding in this order matters because the home page sets the design language.

Revisions happen here. A change made at the design stage is cheap; the same change after development has started is both expensive and time-consuming.

3. Development

The approved design is made to work. Mobile compatibility, form functions, the admin panel and speed optimisation are done at this stage.

In a good implementation the design is built not "pixel by pixel" but to be meaningful at every screen size.

4. Content entry

Text and images are placed on the site. The SEO foundation is also laid here: page titles, descriptions, image alt text, URL structure.

5. Testing

Checks on different browsers and devices, form tests, link checks, speed measurement. A last look before launch.

6. Launch

Domain pointing, SSL certificate, notifying search engines, analytics setup. If there's an old site a redirect map is set up; if this step is skipped you lose your existing search rankings.

How long it takes

Realistic ranges, assuming the content is ready:

Two things extend the duration: late content and scope growth. The second is the additions said mid-project as "what if we also had this". These may be legitimate, but that they'll be reflected in the schedule and budget should be discussed from the start.

What to ask when getting quotes

The reason very different prices come in for the same job is usually a difference in scope. Clarify the following:

• Is the design original or a ready-made theme? Both are valid choices, but this is the reason for the price difference.
• How many revisions are included? A promise of unlimited revisions is usually unrealistic; a clear number is healthier.
• Who will write the content? Is copywriting included, or expected from you?
• Is there an admin panel? Do you have to go back to the agency every time to update content later?
• Are mobile compatibility and speed included? These should be standard, not extra services.
• Is the SEO foundation set up? Title/description structure, sitemap, redirects.
• What comes after launch? How many months of support are included, how does it work afterwards?
• Who keeps the source files? Are the domain and hosting registered in your name?

Clarify this last one at the contract stage. The domain must always be in the business's own account.

It doesn't end on launch day

After the site goes live:

• Updates: fresh content matters for both visitors and search engines.
• Backups: regular and tested backups. A backup not taken isn't a backup.
• Security: software and plugin updates.
• Measurement: which pages work, where visitors come from, where you lose them.

You can track the performance of your launched site with the Site Speed Test and check how it appears in search results with the Meta Tag Preview.

Common mistakes

• Leaving content to the end. Design finishes, the project waits for content.
• Proceeding with too many decision-makers. Five people's separate tastes pull the design toward the average.
• Not redirecting from the old site. Rankings built up over years are lost in a day.
• Thinking about mobile later. Most visitors are on mobile; design should start there.
• Not setting up measurement. You can't improve without knowing what works.
• Having the domain opened in the agency's account. It causes problems when the business relationship ends.

What determines the budget

The reason quotes for the same job differ is usually these five items:

Design approach. A ready-made theme adaptation is the most economical option, brand-specific design the most expensive. There are middle roads between them too, like "serious customisation of a ready-made theme".

Number of pages and template variety. If a ten-page site has five different page templates, the job is five templates, not ten pages. Repeating the same template adds very little cost.

Custom functions. Appointment system, membership, calculation tool, multilingual structure, external system integration (ERP, accounting, shipping). Each of these is a separate development item.

Content production. Are you writing the texts, or the agency? Is there a photo shoot? These are often not included in the quote and come as a surprise later.

Post-launch support. How many months of maintenance are included, who owns the hosting, how updates work.

When comparing quotes, look not at the total figure but at how these five items are filled in. The quote that looks cheap usually describes a narrower scope.

A practical way to prepare content

"Prepare the content" is easy to say and hard to do. Going page by page is the most efficient method. For each page, answer these three questions in writing:

1. Who comes to this page, with what question?
2. What do we want them to have done when they leave?
3. Which three pieces of information must they see to make that happen?

These three answers largely write the page's copy. An example for the "About Us" page: the person arriving is asking "are they trustworthy"; we want them to fill in the quote form when they leave; what they need to see is how many years we've been operating, which jobs we've done and a real address.

Avoid company jargon when writing the texts. The sentence "customer-focused innovative solutions" says nothing; "we go live within three weeks" does.

The first 30 days after launch

What needs doing after the site opens is often skipped:

• Search Console and analytics setup. Where is traffic coming from, which pages are visible?
• Submitting the sitemap. Notify the search engine of the site's existence.
• Form tests. Do a real submission and verify the email arrives. A form silently not working is a common situation.
• 404 check. Are visitors coming from old addresses landing on an error page?
• Speed measurement. Test in the real environment after launch.
• Backup plan. Is automatic backup set up, has restoring been tried?

You can use our Link Checker for broken link scans and the Site Speed Test for speed measurement.

Three things that make projects fail

Looking at projects over the years that were delayed or didn't give the desired result, three common causes emerge:

An unclear decision mechanism. If who will give approval isn't clear from the start, every stage creates extra rounds. Set a single decision-maker or a clear approval process.

Describing the purpose as "redoing the site". Redoing is not a purpose but an action. "Increasing quote requests" is a measurable purpose and guides every decision from design to content.

Never setting up measurement. The site goes live, everyone is happy, and six months later there's no answer to the question "did it work". Analytics setup must be done from day one.

What speeds up the process is not budget but preparation. If your content is ready and the number of decision-makers is small, the same project finishes in half the time.

You can browse the work we've completed on the Projects page.