Embarking on a new website project is an exciting step for any business. It’s a chance to refresh your brand, connect with new customers, and build a powerful engine for growth. But for many business owners, the process of getting from an idea to a live website can feel like a black box. What happens behind the scenes? What’s expected of you?
At WP New England, we believe a transparent, collaborative process is the key to a successful outcome. Your website is one of your most important business assets, and you should feel confident and informed every step of the way. Think of us not just as your web developers, but as your dedicated partners in building a digital presence that delivers real results.
To demystify the journey, we’ve broken our proven process down into a simple, 5-step roadmap. This guide will show you exactly what to expect and highlight your crucial role in making your new website a resounding success.
Step 1: Discovery & Strategy
What it is: The first and most important step is a deep-dive conversation. Before we think about colors or code, we need to understand your business inside and out. The Discovery & Strategy phase is a collaborative meeting where we explore your company’s mission, your specific goals for the new website, your ideal customers, and what sets you apart from the competition. We’re not just building a website; we’re building a solution to your business challenges and a tool to help you achieve your growth objectives.
Your role: Be ready to talk about your business. You are the expert on your business. For this phase to be successful, we need you to share your vision. What does success look like for you? Are you looking to generate more leads, sell products online, or establish your authority in your industry? The more you can tell us about your goals and your customers, the better equipped we’ll be to build a website that truly works for you. Your insights are the foundation of the entire project.
Step 2: Design & User Experience
What it is: Once we have a solid strategy, we move on to the visual design. To make this clear and efficient, this step happens in two parts. First, we create wireframes, which are like the architectural blueprints for your website. They are simple, black-and-white layouts that map out the structure of each page and the flow for the user, ensuring the site is intuitive and easy to navigate. After you approve the blueprints, we create
mockups. These are full-color, static designs that show you exactly what your website will look like, incorporating your branding, fonts, and imagery.
Your role: Provide clear and timely feedback. This is where your website starts to take shape, and your feedback is essential. We’ll ask you to review the wireframes and mockups to ensure they align with your vision. Providing clear, specific, and timely feedback at this stage is crucial, as it allows us to make adjustments efficiently before we write a single line of code. Approving the design here keeps the project on track and on budget.
Step 3: Development & Content Implementation
What it is: With the approved design in hand, our development team gets to work building your functional website. We take the visual mockups and turn them into a high-performance, secure, and reliable WordPress website. This is the most technical phase, where we write clean code, build the features, and ensure everything runs smoothly. During this stage, we also begin implementing the content—the text, images, and videos that will tell your story.
Your role: Provide your website’s text and images. A beautiful design is just a frame; your content is the picture. The single biggest factor in keeping a website project on schedule is receiving the content on time. You will be responsible for providing all the final text and images for the site. We recognize that you are busy and not a professional copywriter, which is why many clients choose to work with our content specialists. However you choose to proceed, delivering your content promptly ensures that we can launch your new site without delay.
Step 4: Testing & Launch
What it is: Before we “flip the switch” and make your new website live to the world, we put it through a rigorous testing process. Our team meticulously checks every link, button, and form on a wide range of devices—desktops, tablets, and smartphones—and across different web browsers. We test for speed, security, and functionality to ensure that every visitor has a flawless experience from day one.
Your role: Give the final approval for launch. Once our internal testing is complete, we’ll hand the site over to you for one final review. This is your opportunity to click through every page and make sure you’re completely happy with the result. Your final, official approval is the last step before we take your new website live.
Step 5: Post-Launch Training & Support
What it is: Congratulations, your new website is live! But our partnership doesn’t end there. We want to empower you to be the confident owner of your new digital asset. We provide a personalized training session where we walk you through the WordPress dashboard and teach you how to manage your site. We’ll show you how to make simple text updates, add new blog posts, and manage your content.
Your role: Ask questions and feel confident. Your role in this final step is to participate in the training, ask as many questions as you need, and feel comfortable managing the day-to-day aspects of your new site. We’ll also discuss our ongoing Website Care Plans, which provide peace of mind by handling all the technical maintenance, security, and backups for you, so you can focus on what you do best: running your business.
Conclusion: A True Partnership
Building a new website is a significant investment in your business’s future. By following a clear, collaborative process, we can ensure that investment pays dividends for years to come. We see every project as a true partnership, and we are committed to building you a website that not only looks great but also becomes a cornerstone of your business’s success.
