From Idea to Online: The 10 Simple Steps to Building Your Website with WebSmiths.

Building a website shouldn’t be confusing or stressful. At WebSmiths, we take you through a clear, honest, step-by-step process that keeps you informed and in control, without needing a degree in technology.

Here’s how we take your idea and turn it into a live website that works for your business:

1. Decide What You Want Your Website to Do

Are you selling products or services? Just need a digital business card? Taking donations or sharing blog posts? We help you clarify the purpose of your site so we can design it around your actual goals.

2. Book a Free Consultation to Discuss Options and Costs

We’ll go over what type of site suits you best, what you’ll need (domain, email, hosting, etc.), and how much it will cost — all explained in simple terms. No jargon. No hidden fees.

3. Agree on the Plan and Timescale

Once we’re both happy with the direction and quote, we outline:

• What’s included in your package;

• Any extras you’ve chosen;

• A realistic turnaround time for each stage.

  
  

4. Pay a Deposit of 25% to 50% to Get Started (the % depends on: the project complexity, the predicted number of designer hours needed, other external costs like video production or bespoke graphic art)

This upfront payment lets us:

• Secure your domain name and hosting;

• Start building your site;

• Commit dedicated time to your project;

• Pay any external contractors to start work on videos, artwork, etc.

  
  

It also shows us you’re serious, which keeps things professional on both sides.

5. Send Us Your Content (We can help if needed)

You provide any:

• Text (about your business, services, etc.);

• Photos, logos, or videos;

• Product or service info.

  
  

We’ll usually meet on a video call to talk through layout ideas. Don’t worry if you’re short on content — we can provide copywriting support and stock imagery if needed, although some additional cost will be incurred if you want us to write your content for you and/or use a lot of stock images which are licensable.

We already have a large bank (15,000+) of generic stock images, so any of these are available to you within any price quoted, but bear in mind they will be generic, not specific to you, so providing your own photos is always best! We can also introduce you to a reliable professional photographer if you want, and you are in or around North Staffordshire.

6. We Build the First Version of Your Website

This is where the magic happens. We bring together the structure, design, and content into a working preview of your site. You’ll get a link to see it in full — usually hosted on a private subdomain like preview.websmiths.net/clientname or something like that.

7. Review the Site with Us and Request Changes

We'll have another call or video meeting to walk through the site together. You can suggest edits, changes, and tweaks for us to make before we go live.

8. Final Approval and Payment

Once you’ve signed off on everything, we will publish the site live on your chosen domain. You will then pay the remaining 75% or 50% balance within 7 days (or as previously agreed, if a longer period is specified). You will also at this point set up ongoing payment for your domain name in your own legal name (not ours) and your hosting and any email accounts that you wanted - we do offer an option to make one monthly payment to us for all the various components but even then, everything will still be in the name of you (or your company) and you will be the legal owner.

9. Owner Admin Access

As soon as the final payment clears, we will grant you full admin access to the backend of the website so you will have complete control of your website. This is essential for the security of your business because it is YOUR website, not ours/your Web Designers. Beware of any web designer who does not do this and see our blogpost "Who actually owns your website and Domain?"

10. Ongoing Support (Optional)

If you choose a maintenance plan, you will pay us a monthly fee on an ongoing basis, and we’ll keep your site updated — and most minor changes (like new photos or price edits) are done within 48 hours, but can take up to a week during particularly busy times or holidays, like Christmas. No hassle, no “support ticket” nonsense.

Simple. Clear. Fair.

At WebSmiths, we believe in demystifying the web design process. You’ll know what’s happening, when it’s happening, and how much it costs — every step of the way.

Book your free consultation today and take the first step toward your new online presence.