Ways to Keep Your Website Redesign Project On Schedule

Video Transcript

Website redesigns are exciting, but also a huge undertaking. There are a lot of different things that can set back or derail a project timeline. So today we’re going to talk about how to make sure your website redesign project stays on schedule.

Hey, it’s Sarah from circle S studio. In my experience, when a firm kicks off a website redesign project, they’re so excited to hit the ground running. But it’s easy to have your eyes on the prize and forget about all the important milestones and deadlines that you need to hit in order to get there. There are a lot of common speed bumps that come up along the way. So today, we’re going to share with you a couple of tips to make sure that your website project launches on time and on budget.

First, it’s extremely important to identify your internal website task force. You don’t want too many hands in the pot when working on a huge project such as a website redesign, so it’s best to either get a small, focused group or just have one internal project manager that can be there from the beginning to the end and keep you on track of your milestones and your deadlines.

Next, there’s a lot of moving parts of a website, so be sure that you’re setting realistic timeline expectations up front. Once a project starts, everyone is very focused on a launch date. But you have to really take into account what’s going on in your company that could maybe affect this. It’s best to take a look at your internal calendar and see if there are any scheduled vacations, holidays, or any huge company initiatives, such as events or conferences, that could have an impact on the schedule. So make sure you communicate that up front with your project manager so there are no speed bumps along the way.

Another thing to keep in mind is that content planning for any website has to be your first priority. A lot of firms underestimate how long it takes to gather all of your content and go through and edit or add new pieces. And content is not just the words on the site. Once a site map is finalized, you need to start taking inventory of what content you have, what you need to produce, and what needs to be rewritten. This also includes images and videos, so be thinking about that from the start. It will make the process go a lot smoother, and then once the website is back from development, content entry will be a breeze.

Also, avoid making any small design or scope changes after final approvals have been made. Sometimes clients underestimate that one small design change after final approvals can cause a ripple effect for the project’s schedule and the scope. So make sure that you have thoroughly reviewed all designs before giving final approval.

My last piece of advice is to ask questions along the way and don’t make any assumptions throughout the process. The best thing for both your firm and your web development partner is to communicate every single question, thought, or concern from the beginning to the end so you can ensure a smooth delivery of your final product.

So those are our tips on how to make sure that your website project stays on schedule, which in turn makes it on budget. Please stay tuned for more video content from circle S studio.