This Website Design Project Plan (“Agreement”) is an agreement between ASTOUNDZ (“Company”) and the party set forth in the related Service Order form (“Client” or “you”) incorporated herein by this reference (together with any subsequent service order forms submitted by Client, the “Service Order”) and applies to the purchase of all services ordered by Client on the Service Order (collectively, the “Services”). The parties understand, acknowledge and agree that this is an online agreement which is being entered into in conjunction with the Service Order and Master Services Agreement.
ASTOUNDZ is a leading Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and custom website design and development company focused on building websites that mean business. If quality, customization, functionality, visual appearance, performance and getting visitors to come to your website is important to you…..then ASTOUNDZ is a perfect fit. We do not promote fast and cheap, we promote effective. We specialize in solving complex business challenges using thought process and information technology.
Below we have outlined the “best-case scenario” for timeline estimates, however, there are only a handful of projects that fit into this scenario. It’s more important to have clear expectations, transparency and become as educated as possible on the complexities involved with SEO, custom website design, development and performance. Attempting to provide world-class services, we always strive to provide with quality work and consider “every effort counts”.
Website Development Timeline Estimates
Website Design and Development Project Plans can be broadly categorized under the following timelines.
- New Startup / Small Business – Entry Level Website: 6 – 10 Weeks
- Small Business / Service Company – Basic Website: 8 – 12 Weeks
- Professional Services / Multi-Location – Standard Website: 10 – 14 Weeks
- Established Business / Multi-Location / Multi-Product – Advanced Website: 14 – 18 Weeks
- Large Company / E-Commerce – Enterprise Website: 18 – 24 Weeks
Website Timeline Development Assumptions
- Project Management is through Asana, a web-based project management tool.
- All engaged team members are invited to Asana.
- Two (2) Rounds of Revisions to design and a Final Design.
- Reviews and Revisions are Provided within 3 Business Days from the Client
- Content 100% Complete by Phase 4
- No additional functionality is added mid-project
- Approvals received within three (3) Business Days of Request
- Project Stays on Initial Timeline (should project move off initial timeline for any reason, resource allocation will be interrupted, and your project will be juggled within buffer space, vs. initial resource task and milestone plans)
PHASE 1: Internal Planning / Project Kick-off
- Initial Payment is Received from Client
- Internal Strategy and Project Launch Meeting
- Stakeholders Meeting Internally
- Specifications Outline
- Technology Outline
- Setting Up Project in Accounting Systems
- Setting Up Project in Project Management System – Asana
- Establish Tasks, Responsible Parties, Milestones and Deliverables
PHASE 2: Website Design Brainstorm, Conceptual Designs and Final Proofs
- A Strategy Session and Design Brief(1-2 Hours)
- Stakeholders Meeting with Client (1-2 Hours)
- Home Page InVision Wireframe – Requires Client approval prior to Design Development
- Home Page High Fidelity Wireframe Design V1
- Home Page Design Reviews and Rounds of Revisions* V2, Final
- Interior Page Design (About Us and Contact Us) V1
- Interior Page Design Reviews and Rounds of Revisions* V2, Final
- Blog Roll and Blog Post Design V1
- Blog Roll and Blog Post Design Reviews and Rounds of Revisions * V2, Final
The timeline for this phase can take ten (10) business days minimum and unlimited time to complete depending on the client’s response time, clarity, decisiveness, and the amount of rounds of changes included in their Service Order. The number one thing that can impact the timeline during the design phase is NOT providing timely and clear revisions.
- 1-3 Versions can be developed within 10 business days.
- 4-6 versions can be developed within 20 business days
- 7-9 versions can be developed within 30 business day
*Your Service Order may include a specific number of design revisions (Standard is two (2) plus the Final). If you require additional rounds of changes, you can easily add them for $300 per revision or at our current horly rate.
PHASE 3: Website Development
Here is an overview of the basic development phase. (If you have an intermediate or advanced website, this is where the custom coding for advanced functionality may come into effect).
- Setting Up Development Environment – Hosting and Maintenance Fees Begin Here!
- Take Photoshop and Invision designs and begin migrating to actual web design
- Setup SQL/MySql Databases, WP, Etc.
- Designing Global Style Sheets (CSS) based on agreed to design styling (for one browser – Chrome and desktops)
- Home Page Development and Coding
- Secondary Pages Development and Coding
- Blog Pages and Roll Development and Coding
The Timeline for this Phase can take 15 business days minimum and unlimited time to complete depending on the Client’s response time, clarity, decisiveness, and the amount of custom designed pages or custom functionality included in their investment plan. The more custom design / custom designed pages and custom functionality you have, the longer the development phases may take. The kinds of things that will extend the development time and put you into an intermediate or advanced project timeline would be, ecommerce, membership systems, forums, reservations systems, listing systems, directories, mapping functionality, etc.
*Your Service Order may include a specific number of Development Revisions (standard is 3). If you require additional rounds of changes, you can easily add them for $300 per revision or at our current hourly rate.
PHASE 4: Content Development and Deployment
This phase can be one of the most difficult to accurately predict time. When you are planning on a new website design and development project – do not forget to set aside a budget specifically for CONTENT. This is the most underbid part of a web project and one of the most important elements. It can cause the largest delays and if not done correctly, the most missed opportunities with a new website. That is the bad news……
The entire Content Transfer, Creation and Management process will depend on the level of your SEO investment and goals. The more aggressive you are about placement, the more products and services you want to be found for and the more locations you want to be found will DRAMATICALLY increase the time necessary for this phase. Now for the good news!!!!!!
ASTOUNDZ can build all of the SEO content for you! All you will need to do is select which plan you want to go with. Our SEO Plans can be found here www.ASTOUNDZ.com/SEOPlans. ASTOUNDZ can also develop the on-page website content for an additional fee. This is NOT included as part of the website development.
The Content Management Phase consists of the following steps:
- Navigation Creation
- Navigation Optimization
- Content Creation (we will request missing content – you can write and provide or outsource the content creation to our team)
- Content Transfer
- New Content Uploads
- Content Styling (this also includes all of the SEO work that is necessary to make pages perform for SEO)
- Image Research, Collecting, Purchasing and Posting
- Interior and Home Page Linking
- Social Account Integration and Linking
- Forms Integration and Testing
- Test the website for all browsers (IE, Firefox, Safari, etc.)
- Test the website for Responsiveness (Mobile Devices, Tablets, etc)
*All content must be received within five (5) days of completion of the development phase. ASTOUNDZ team will transfer all content from your existing website to your new website. We will also add any additional content sent within five (5) days of the completion of your development phase. Should you have any additional content additions or changes to your website, you can easily make these changes through your new website’s content management system or ASTOUNDZ will add these at our standard hourly rate.
PHASE 5: On and Off-Page SEO
With our roots firmly planted as a company that specializes in SEO, this is our favorite phase of any project. This is where we help ensure that customers and prospects can find your pretty new baby! This phase usually takes us 3-5 business days.
- URL Optimization
- Image Optimization
- On-Page SEO
- Off-Page SEO
- Heading Tags (H1, H2, H3)
- Page Titles
- Meta Descriptions
- Meta Keywords
- Categories / Tags
- Interior Linking
PHASE 6: Quality Assurance – Pre-Live Review
- Site Review
- Test Header
- Test Navigation
- Test Forms
- Test Links
- Test Functionality
- Test Footer
- Review Site Settings
- Favicon
- Test Social Links
- Test Payment Processing Gateway
- Purchase Required Licenses
PHASE 7: Prepare for Go-Live!
- Prep Server for Go Live
- Set Up MX Records for Email Hosting if needed
- SMTP Relay for Email Notifications from Website if needed
- Move Files into Live Server Environment
- Change DNS Links
- Domain Propagation – Can take 3 Days
- Client Training – How to use your CMS (Website Content Management System)
PHASE 8: Post Go-Live Audit
Once the Site is Live the following Post Live Activities Take Place
- Cross Browser Audit
- Mobile Responsive Audit
- Forms Testing
- Client Training
- Promote Site Launch on (Social Media, Blogs, Email Newsletters, etc – Depends on your SEO plan)
- Provide Hosting, Support, Upgrades and as Needed, Maintenance based on your subscribed maintenance plan.
- Support can be reached via our website at www.ASTOUNDZ.com/Support or via email at
- HelpMe@ASTOUNDZ.com or by calling 713-904-5001.
- Full Site Errors Report and Corrections
- Webmaster Reviews
- Submission of Site to Search Engines
- Enhancing Security for Forms as Requested
NOTE: ONCE THE WEBSITE IS LIVE, ALL SUPPORT WILL THEN BE PROVIDED BY OUR SUPPORT TEAM. YOU CAN ACCESS CUSTOMER SUPPORT VIA OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.ASTOUNDZ.COM OR VIA EMAIL AT HELPME@ASTOUNDZ.COM OR BY CALLING 713-904-5001.
PHASE 9: Umbraco or WordPress Training
We will complete a one (1) hour WordPress or CMS Training with you ensuring you know how to add pages, to add posts, media files and make basic content changes to your new site. While your plan allows for ASTOUNDZ to transfer a specific number of pages to your new website, you can add unlimited pages or posts through your content management system before or after Go-Live.
PHASE 10: Reporting, Measurements and Analytics – Ongoing
- Google Analytics Installation
- Webmaster Reviews
- Submission of Site to Search Engines
- Enhancing Security for Forms as Requested
- Complete Site Review and Evaluation for Next Phase
PHASE 11: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Must be Subscribed to a SEO Plan
- SEMRush and Page Rank Reporting
- Building Backlink Strategy
- Site Visit Report
- Review Selected Key Phrases
- Measurement and Reporting
PHASE 12: Social Media Promotion – Must be Subscribed to a Separate Plan
- Marketing Images Designed for Social Promotions of the New Website Launch
- Social Marketing Promotions
- Email Marketing Templates
- Newsletters
- Content Strategy
- Content Creation
- Graphics Creation
Project Timeline Extensions – Additional Functionality or Design Changes
Additional functionality that will require additional time, Investment and resources to be added include, but are not limited to:
- Design Changes in the Development Phase
- eCommerce
- Membership Portal
- Document Management Portal
- Listing System
- Custom Coding
- Additional Custom Designed and Developed Pages
- Custom Landing Page Design and Development
- Registration Systems
- Scheduling Systems
- Additional Security
- High Traffic Websites
- Media / News Websites with Extended Category Functionality
- Wishlist Functionality
- Complex Content Transfers and Content Revisions
- High Volume Content Transfers and Clean Up
- Lengthy Time for Review Feedback, Revisions and Approvals
- Custom Photo Library/Video Library Integration
- Data Export/Import Services using CMS plugins
- Multi-Language translations feature
