The WebDrift project process starts with a free prototype carrying no obligation; after the written offer, projects with a single total price require 50% before design and content and 50% before technical implementation. You see progress, approve design and content separately and receive the agreed files and access details at handover.
This guide explains the decisions you make along the way and what you can prepare for them. It focuses on a website project; the specific scope of systems and integrations follows the offer.
How does the WebDrift project process begin?
We first clarify your goals and make the structure and visitor journeys visible through a free prototype. You can try the draft without having to place an order.
An understandable starting point is enough for the first conversation. Describe what your website should achieve, which services matter and which information visitors need before enquiring. If you already have a website, also show which parts work and where difficulties arise.
A wireframe is a simple sketch of the page structure. The clickable prototype turns that into a journey you can try: for example, you can see how a visitor moves from a service to a contact route. It supports decisions about structure and direction. The preview does not imply a completed customer management system or an integration already operating in production.
A hypothetical service business might notice while trying the draft that visitors first need to know the area it serves. That information belongs early in the structure. It is more specific than a request to make the home page look “more modern” and can be discussed before the paid project.
Our FAQ provides authoritative answers about the prototype, conditions and collaboration. Use the draft primarily to check whether we have understood your needs correctly.
What is agreed in writing before the paid project?
The offer records services, costs and the schedule. You confirm a specific scope, which becomes the basis for design, content and technical implementation.
Describe features as concrete tasks. “Booking” might mean a link to an existing calendar or a more extensive integration. CMS stands for content management system, an interface for editing content. What matters is which texts, images or products your team should actually be able to change through it.
The package details are available under Web design and development. For broader budget guidance, you can use our published article about website costs. This process guide complements those pricing pages without listing every service again.
| Point in the offer | What to check |
|---|---|
| Pages and content | Which pages are included, and who supplies each text and image? |
| Design | Which brand guidelines and revision rounds are agreed? |
| Functions | Which enquiry, booking or integration must work at the end? |
| Date | Which scope is the date based on? |
| Payment | When does each phase begin after its payment arrives? |
| Handover | Which files, access details and training are included? |
A landing page at WebDrift usually takes about one week. For larger projects, duration depends on pages, features and content; we set the date in the offer. Texts, images and approvals need to arrive on time. Other blanket numbers of weeks would not provide a reliable basis for your planning.
How do the two phases and 50/50 payment work?
For projects with a single total price, you pay 50% before phase 1 covering design and content and the remaining 50% before phase 2 covering technical implementation. Each phase starts only once its payment has arrived.
Phase 1 turns the confirmed structure into a developed presentation. We design the pages and prepare content for the agreed visitor journeys. You check whether the presentation fits your brand and whether the statements accurately describe your services. Missing information should become visible at this point.
Phase 2 covers the agreed technical implementation, such as backend, CMS, CRM or integrations. The backend is the technical processing behind the visible interface. A CRM is a customer management system. The project determines which components you need; a simple website does not automatically require every system listed here.
For your business, this means two payment points you can plan for. Assign responsibility internally for accepting the offer, providing feedback and arranging payments. Content approval does not replace receipt of payment, and payment does not replace reviewing content.
This distinction also helps with open questions. If you request an additional feature, first clarify how it affects the agreed scope. A feature does not become part of the project simply because it appears in a feedback message.
How do you approve design and content usefully?
You receive progress updates and approve design and content separately before technical implementation starts. Useful feedback identifies the specific location, the problem and the change you want.
Review the design from your audience's perspective. Is the most important service easy to recognise? Is the next step placed where visitors need it? Personal preferences can form part of feedback, but distinguish them from a practical task the design needs to support.
For content, check accuracy and completeness first. Are services, service area and contact details correct? Are images appropriate, with usage rights clarified? If several people contribute specialist knowledge, collect their comments before sending conflicting change requests.
The number of revision rounds is stated in the offer. Use the agreed checkpoints for consolidated feedback and record approvals clearly. Silence leaves it uncertain whether somebody has reviewed a version or simply not found time to do so.
One possible division of responsibilities is a specialist checking service descriptions, a responsible person checking the brand presentation and another confirming the consolidated feedback. This is an organisational suggestion for your business, rather than a prescribed team structure.
What belongs to publication and handover?
We check the website, publish it and hand over the agreed files, code and access details. Once paid in full, the code, content and domain belong to you.
Consider handover as a practical working situation. For a website with a CMS, we show you how to use it. You should understand where to change content and which access details matter for operation and the domain. Third-party software, fonts and images remain subject to their licences.
Ask to see more than the finished screen. Check the actual enquiry journey together: where does a message arrive and who handles it? For an agreed booking function, successful transfer matters just as much as the calendar's appearance.
Every one-time website project includes one year of hosting and basic security. Core and Growth also include the domain in year one; Landing does not. Hosting means the website is available on a server. It is separate from ownership of your domain and the ability to edit content.
A short checklist of your own helps at handover:
- I have reviewed design and content and approved them separately.
- The agreed contact journey works and has a responsible person.
- Code, files and access details have been handed over clearly.
- The domain and hosting account are assigned.
- My team can edit the agreed content in the CMS.
- Licences and services used are documented.
- Operation after the first year is clarified.
How do you decide on care after launch?
Monthly care for your website is optional and can be cancelled monthly. It covers maintenance, security, updates, support, basic search engine optimisation and small edits.
From year two, hosting runs through that care if you choose it. Without care, we set up hosting in your own provider account and hand over hosting access, domain, code and content. From year two, you pay the provider directly and have no ongoing obligation to WebDrift.
The decision should consider who will handle updates and technical questions in daily operation. Being able to edit content yourself does not automatically mean you want to take on technical operation as well. Our guide to website maintenance helps you understand that responsibility.
Conclusion: Each phase needs a clear decision
At WebDrift, you can first assess the direction through a prototype with no obligation. The offer, two payment phases and separate approvals then provide a clear foundation. Plan handover and ongoing operation before publication. To make your plans more concrete, describe your goals and starting point through Start a project.
Sources and check date
Checked on 14 October 2026 against WebDrift's current FAQ, website services and payment rules. The conditions follow the company website and current Writing Guide. The individual written offer determines scope, date and any agreed variations.
