This 10-Steps Web Design Process Will Help You Deal With Every Project

A simple and practical 10-step guide to the web design process, written for designers who like to stay organized and keep projects moving.

Building a website has a lot of moving parts, and without some kind of game plan, things can go off the rails quickly. You may find that sticking to a clear design process will bring you structure and keep you focused.

Now, some designers like to follow the double-diamond method, while others prefer an iterative approach. Personally, I don’t get too hung up on the names, because as long as there’s a clear path from idea to launch, I’m happy.

So here’s how I usually break it down in ten simple steps I stick to when designing websites. Of course, this process isn’t set in stone and you can tweak it as you wish to fit your work style, but either way this overall structure will help you take that vague brief to a polished, working site.

Step 1: Figure out what the site needs to do

When you sit down with the client, try to understand the big picture. What’s the website for? What should people do when they land on it? Or what kind of impression should it leave? These questions might sound basic, but skipping this step is usually what leads to confusion down the line.

This early stage is a mix of research and conversation. You may need to hop on calls with stakeholders (agencies or the final client) and ask a lot of questions. For starters, try to dig into the current state of things. If it’s a redesign, there’s already a clue that something isn’t working as it should. Your job here is to figure out what that is, and how you can fix it.

Usually, you’ll go through things like:

• Who’s the audience?
• What’s the main job of this site (selling something, promoting an idea, educating people, or maybe just showing off work)
• What should someone see when they first land on the homepage?
• How does this business stand out from everyone else doing the same thing?
• Is there a specific pain point the site needs to address?

This phase also includes a bit of competitor research and getting to know the market. You want to know what users are expecting and how you can do things a little better, or at least a little differently.

Step 2: Lock down the scope before it runs wild

Here’s where you need to tread carefully. Once everyone’s excited about the possibilities, it’s tempting to start dreaming big. And while dreaming big is fun, it also tends to wreck timelines and blow through budgets.

So in this step you’ll want to make sure that lines are drawn. Before any design work starts, try to gather everyone (virtually or in person) and have a proper kickoff meeting where you’ll all agree on what’s actually being delivered. This includes clear goals, realistic deadlines, and a budget that supports both.

At this point, help map out a timeline with something visual, like a Gantt chart or even a good old-fashioned checklist. It helps everyone see what’s coming next and what you’re all working toward.

The goal here is to avoid “scope creep” where a simple website turns into a full-on platform with a custom app, email automation, a newsletter system, and, who knows, maybe even a podcast. All great ideas, but not if they weren’t part of the original plan (and in the original budget and timeline).

So this stage includes:

• Agreeing on what gets delivered
• Setting deadlines that match the workload
• Making sure the budget lines up with expectations
• Writing everything down in a shared doc so nothing gets lost or forgotten

Once that’s locked in, the real planning can start.

Step 3. Write before you design

Most of the time, you’ll get handed a project that already includes layouts filled with Lorem Ipsum, and the expectation is that the client will eventually go in and swap it all out with “real” content later. It’s common practice, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good one.

When you’re designing without any actual copy in hand, it’s kinda like building a puzzle without knowing what the final picture looks like. You can guess, but chances are, the moment real content shows up, things won’t line up neatly. Sections might overflow, headings might not make sense, and suddenly, the whole thing will feel a bit clunky.

Of course, don’t expect every client to show up with polished copy ready to go, because that’s rare. But even if you don’t have the final content, you can lean on a few workarounds that will help you keep everything tight:

• Check out the competition and borrow a few layout ideas that clearly work well in that niche.
• Think through where each chunk of content will likely go (hero message, service highlights, testimonials)
• Start with the homepage because it sets the tone and introduces the other pages.
• Use placeholders for things that won’t throw off the structure such as contact info, menus, or even product descriptions. Those don’t need to be perfect during the layout phase.

At this point, you’ll be mostly focused on mapping the bones of the site. You won’t have to overthink button labels or final wording but only what kind of stuff you’re planning to include.

Step 4. Get organized

This part will save you time and stress later on so don’t skip it. Take everything you learned from talking with the client and figure out the priorities, like what features are must-haves and what can wait.

Here it’s best you keep a project doc (or Gantt chart, if you’re feeling fancy) that has the deadlines, responsibilities, budget, must-have features, etc.

Then there’s the content side. Look at everything I gathered earlier and build a rough hierarchy, what comes first, what pages branch off from others, and how everything connects. This will eventually become the sitemap.

Here you also double-check that you have access to everything you’ll need like server logins, and asset folders. If you need any software tools that weren’t discussed early on, bring them up during this phase so they can be added to the budget before it’s too late.

Next, it’s time to move on to structure and layout.

Step 5. Lay out the structure (before it gets pretty)

You’re getting closer to actual design, but before that you’ll have to figure out how people are going to move through the site and what kind of layout makes sense for their needs.

Start off with rough sketches just to throw some ideas to help you think through different page layouts and interactions. Once you’re happy with the general direction, build out wireframes.

The point is to see how the layout functions before getting distracted by color schemes and fonts. Share these wireframes with your client to gather feedback and make sure you’re all aligned before you get too deep.

At the same time, you can work on the information architecture (how all the content fits together, where it goes, and how it flows from one page to the next) and the user flows (the visual maps that show how someone might navigate through the site, depending on what they’re trying to do).

Next, test the structure. Even basic testing at this stage can save a lot of rework later on. If something feels clunky or confusing now, it’s only going to get worse once it’s all dressed up.

Step 6. Visual Design (UI)

Finally, this is the part where everything starts to look like a real website. You’ve sorted the structure and mapped out the user flows, now you can finally focus on the visuals.

This phase includes some pleasant inspiration-gathering where you can look around at what’s trending, and what others are doing well. Then you move on to crafting the actual UI.

As usual, start designing each screen. Make sure the typography feels balanced, the spacing is breathable, the buttons feel clickable, then add in graphics, icons, and some animations and micro-interactions.

This is even easier if the client has a brand with an established visual identity, so you won’t need to start from scratch. In each case, it would be very helpful to you if you put together a style guide with all color palettes, typefaces, spacing rules and all other design pieces. It makes life a lot easier later on, especially for the dev team or if someone else picks up the project.

By the end of this phase, you will have prepared high-fidelity prototypes to show to your clients or use for user testing. After that, hand the designs to the developers and make sure they have everything they need like desktop and responsive versions, design files, assets, and notes.

Step 7. Development

During the development phase try to work closely with the developers in case they run into stuff that’s harder to build than expected or suggest ways to make things smoother on the tech side. You may need to tweak the UI as needed and help solve any problems that pop up.

Also check how everything looks once it’s coded because sometimes things shift slightly during development (fonts render differently, spacing gets off, etc) and flag anything that needs fixing. This back-and-forth with developers is part of the process.

And once the build is complete, move on to testing.

Step 8. Site testing and improvement

This step’s mostly handled by developers, but you still need to stay in the loop. The site usually gets uploaded to a staging server, where you can review it without making it public yet. It will give you space to catch any weird bugs, broken links, or unexpected layout issues before launch.

You and the development team will also see how the site behaves across different browsers and screen sizes. Things that look great on Chrome might act up in Safari or Firefox, so it’s worth spending time on cross-browser testing.

And finally, test the design itself (Does the navigation make sense? Do all the buttons work? Can users actually complete tasks? Is there anything that is confusing?)

After the QA, give the final product to the client, other stakeholders and test users. Any notes or issues they share will help you fine-tune the design and once everyone signs off and the site feels ready, push it live.

Step 9. Launch

When it’s time to launch, everything should be locked in. There’s usually a bit of nervous energy at this point, which is totally normal. You’ve done the prep work, you’ve built in some backup plans in case something weird happens, and you’ve made sure the team knows what to expect.

But going live doesn’t mean the job is over. The client’s team might handle blog posts or other written updates, but I usually stick around to polish things up. New sections, a few extra tweaks, or even small layout changes might pop up once the site starts getting real traffic. The launch is a big moment, but it’s rarely the final one.

Step 10. After the launch

Once the website is out in the wild, there’s usually a mix of excitement and a small list of things that still need attention. A random bug might show up. A button might act funky on an older device. These are the tiny things that slipped through the cracks and they’re completely normal.

It’s good to keep an eye on how users interact with the site in the first few weeks. Even the most thorough design process can’t predict everything, and user behavior can surprise you. Sometimes, it’s a small content update; other times, it’s bigger like refreshing the layout to match new branding down the line.

There’s also the practical side like making sure links aren’t broken, everything still works on newer browsers, and keeping the software up to date. You won’t always stay on as the long-term site manager, but staying involved at least a little bit always pays off because clients appreciate it and will remember it.

And there you have it!

The web design process is basically any process where you organize data, test things, gather feedback, and keep improving the product. That’s just how this works.

Want more? I’ve shared extra tips and stories in other UI/UX posts:

• Best Online Graphic Design Courses Intermediate Level in 2025
• 20 Real StoryBrand Website Examples that Engage on a Deep Level
• The Pocket Guide to Different Website Layouts and Their Uses