Planning on undertaking a website design or website redesign project? Allow us to present the ultimate website redesign checklist.

Kick off the project. Get executives on board

• Schedule informal one-on-one meetings with your key executives and ask them what they would like to see in a new website.
• Then schedule a group meeting with all key executives.
• Get their consensus on all main points regarding the future website's usability and look and feel
• Define roles and get proper authority for yourself. Get your executives to officially appoint you as the Project Lead by sending an email announcement to everyone in your company who maybe involved in this project.

Plan your project. Prepare. Do homework

• Large website design project can last several months
• Create a project plan
• Work backward from the desired launch date
• List all major milestones first (prepare requirements, hire a web design agency, etc)
• Split each milestone into smaller tasks (provide screen shots of favorable design samples, collect links to sample websites, etc)
• Setup reminders for yourself
• Adjust the plan as you think of more things to do and add more tasks

Define website requirements and create an RFP (request for proposals) document

• List all features and capabilities you'd like to have on your website.
• List as many as you can, even some very small ones
• Order them by categories (interface, usability, back-end management, statistics, etc)
• Provide links to applicable examples and paste in screen shots (do both).
• Clearly articulate things that you do like and those you don't like
• In case of RFPs, more is better. The more information and examples, the better.
• Plan at least a week for this milestone

Most common items to include in the website design RFP document:

1. your company overview and vision/mission
2. main purposes of the website (reputation, information presentation, lead generation, selling online, event management, etc)
3. list all desired functionalities, including very small ones (CMS recommendation, online backup capability, mobile device friendliness, external link open new window, browser compatibility, stylish typography, etc.)
4. ask for recommendations on features and functionalities, a lot of useful information will come your way that may help you cut costs
5. planned completion date (website launch)
6. planned project duration, for example, 90 calendar days
7. request a project plan
8. request training and post-launch support options
9. request website maintenance options (SLA)
10. request hosting recommendations (even if you already have hosting)
11. request detaile financial proposal: cost breakdown, the number of hours allocated for each item and hourly rate. Do not specify your budget unless it is very small. Request to add all costs (such as project management, communications, etc.). Request to specify what extra charges may be incurred later on (additional project management if the project gets delayed, moving the site to a live hosting, communications with your host, etc)
12. specify whether or not image sourcing and formatting will be required or not
13. provide proposal evaluation criteria. Be specific, assign points to each criteria.
14. provide clear submission instructions (print/email, deadline for questions, deadline for submission, etc)
15. specify proposal award process (winners are invited to the interviews in 30 days after proposal deadline; losers are not notified)
16. ask for portfolio samples of similar projects
17. ask for client references (this is different from portfolio! and very important to ask for)
18. request resumes with designers' qualifications
19. include legal clauses (no obligation, confidentiality)

Source qualified web design agencies

• Do a Google search for "website design" in your area and gather emails from 10-20 website agencies
• Send your RFP doc to these design agencies via a BCC email
• Alternatively, you can post your RFP on MERX (if you are in Canada)
• Gather proposals and read them carefully while taking notes. Even though it is time consuming, this step is crucial for the success of your website redesign project. Proposals will be part of the legal contract you will have with the hired agency, so if an item is not in the proposal, the service provider will have no obligation to complete it
• Select three finalists and invite them for an interview

Hire the most qualified web design agency for your project

• Prepare a checklist with 5-10 hiring criteria, for example:
  1. understanding of your requirements and objectives
  2. agency’s expertise and portfolio
  3. similar projects completed and client references
  4. designers' qualifications (many web design agencies have a very high churn and hire recent grads for the actual work; only sales and account management folks are permanent)
  5. project methodology (ask for a "walk through" on how the project is progressed; what PM software tools are used, if any)
  6. risk mitigation strategies (what if you don't like the design concepts? will you need to pay for rework?
  7. quality assurance processes
  8. communications protocol and response rate (emails are answered within 12-24 hours)
  9. account management (who will be your main contact and their role in the agency)
  10. cancellation policies (what if the web agency decides to end the project prematurely)
• Select three finalists and invite them for interviews
• Schedule all three interviews in one week
• Schedule all interviews in the morning
• Do not interview more than one agency per day
• Take your time. Spend 1-2 hours on each web desing agency
• Ask questions and take the opportunity to fill potential gaps in your knowledge
• Create a matrix for the three finalists and evaluate the results carefully. Do it in writing. First impressions are not always correct. Some sales people are very good, but this does not always mean that their proposed value is the best
• Use a group meeting if your team is large, gather “votes” and analyze 'pros' and 'cons' for each agency
• Address the financial part of the proposals separately
• Double check to make sure that all costs have been factored in (your budget can double because of the "not included" items)
• Schedule a meeting with your executive team and present your findings to them along with your recommendation on the final candidate.
• Make sure you get their consensus and official approval
• Notify the web design agency who is awarded your contract
• Ensure that the proposal is pasted into the legal Contract with all the necessary changes
• Sign the contract and get the signed copy from the hired web design agency
• Provide down payment if required.

Start the design and production process

• Request a kickoff meeting with the web design agency and ask them to walk you through the process again. This can be done remotely.
• Set up tasks and reminders for all milestones of the project as per the project plan submitted by the hired web design agency in their proposal/contract.

Coordinate with the  web design agency

• If the project plan is too high-level, make necessary adjustments and update the web design agency on the changes.
• Use Google calendar to track milestones and main tasks and share it with your web designers
• Split up all milestones and large tasks into small tasks. For example, for larger chunks of tasks, such as re-format 100 pages, ask to complete 1-4 and pages first and show them to you for approval. This step can be split into three tasks: ask for 1-4 samples; provide feedback; verify the final results (set reminders for yourself).

Organize project files properly

• Update your project plan promptly
• Store all emails and documents related to the website design project in designated folders. Have a back up copy online (Google drive is highly secure).
• Use long descriptive subject lines in your emails. Request the designers do the same. This will help you locate a particular email quickly.
• Do not send long emails, but be specific.
• Do not delete emails for 3 months upon completion of the project.

Manage quality and conduct QA

• Provide your feedback in writing
• For the main reviews, summarize your requests in one document. Be clear and specific, add illustrations and screen shots - this will ensure the best quality of the final product and decrease your communication time.
• Provide your approvals in a timely manner.
• Plan for and conduct Quality Assurance
• Conduct your own QA and list all the items
• Request your team members do the same (make sure to explain that no design changes will be made at this point)
• Summarize all required changes into one document and send it to the designers
• Schedule a QA meeting with your web design agency (in person or via skype)
• Go over all items one by one

Manage your management wisely

• Some executives request new features  after the design has been completed. This can get you caught into a grinder between the designers, executives and your finance department.
• Notify your management and get their approvals on each important milestone by email (completion of the design concept, completion of content porting, completion of usability flow)
• Clearly explain where additional charges may apply.

Joomla Bliss is a specialized boutique website design firm based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. We will be delighted to talk to you about your website design or redeisgn project. We work on a fixed-cost all-including contract basis, and our quote includes Joomla and SEO training as well as granular project reporting and post-launch support. Call Anna at 613.231.6308 or email her to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your website design or redesign challenges and objectives.