If you’ve been on my newsletter for a while or follow me on threads, you know that I’m training to become a powerlifter. An amateur powerlifter. And in pursuit of these muscular goals, I’ve been working with a personal trainer/powerlifting coach down at my local Gold’s Gym for a while now. 

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She competed in powerlifting in college and has been competing in bodybuilding competitions for the last few years. It’s been amazing to get to work with her and I’m grateful everyday to have someone as knowledgeable as her preparing me to compete in a sport that I’ve never competed in before.

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(I didn’t even play sports in high school, I was in the band. So this is allll very new to me). 

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Why am I telling you this? 

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While there are so many powerlifters out there that don’t have a coach, there is something so reassuring about having someone else dedicated to my progress and results like my coach, Reagan, is. When it’s time to train with her, all I have to do is show up mentally prepared and ready to give it everything I have. 

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She knows (and shares with me all the time) the plan we’re executing to make my first meet the best that it can be. 

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I could plan these workouts myself using Youtube or even investing in an online course/coah. But making the choice to invest in someone that could get me the results I want in a much faster and efficient way without me having to do any of the heavy lifting (well….you get what I mean) was easy. 

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It’s been a relief and a motivator for me, and I want that sort of relief and reassurance for you on your next website project. 

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Addressing the elephant in the room

There’s a bit of a negative connotation around working with “developers” when it comes to building websites and because of this, I want use this post to walk you through the step by step process on how I work with designers to develop their Squarespace and Webflow websites for their own brands and for their clients. 

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Questions to ask during consultation calls if it’s your first time

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If this is your first time working with a developer, you should absolutely hop on a call with them to learn more about their process and to give them more information about your project. 

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Designers usually reach out to me at the start of the design phase of their projects or right before the entire design is finalized. When the entire design is already finalized, the conversation can be a bit more technical about the functionality that you need and ways to address them in the best way based on your design and any platform limitations.

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Reaching out during the start of the design phase works as well - it allows them to ask any questions before making final design decisions and getting their client’s approval. 

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During these calls I usually get a lot of questions such as “How can this be done on (their platform)?” or “How can this sort of feature be updated and maintained by my client or myself in the future?” and these sorts of questions are much easier to have and talk through over a video call where you can share your screen with me and walk me through what you’re thinking. 

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For conversations where the design phase hasn’t started yet, these conversations are a bit more general and can focus on features that you or your client would like to incorporate into the design, but haven’t finalized or fleshed everything out yet. These calls are great for managing expectations if you’re not sure what can be done on a platform and don’t want to promise something to your client(s) that may be out of scope. 

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Here are some questions that you can ask on your consultation or discovery call with a website developer: 

• What assets or materials do you need from me and how do you need me to deliver?
• Do you need to interact with the client?
• Where/how will you be interacting/communicating with them?
• When and how can I give feedback on the site before it’s launched?
• An overall discussion of in project deadlines and launch dates.

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My perspective on "revision rounds" for development:

I’ve been told by many of designers that the fact that I offer one revision round (let alone two!) isn’t always the case when it comes to the other developers that they’ve inquired with or found.

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And while I’ll take that with a grain of salt (they may offer them but just call them something different than I do or structure them differently), you should want to work with a designer that offers revision rounds during the development process. I'm not perfect, and may miss small things during development especially the more pages of the design that are involved.

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These revision rounds allows the both of us to slow down, take a look at the site objectively, and make sure that everything is looking and functioning how it should be.

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A peek behind the curtain: Our step-by-step process

Discovery Call (required if we’ve never worked together before. Optional if we have!)

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Like I mentioned before, this call is very important to have if you’ve never worked with a developer before. I want to make sure that I’m answering any of your questions face to face, and I want to make sure that you’re fully aware of every step in the process before deciding to work together.

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As I go through the process with you, especially if you’ve designed websites with clients before, you’ll be very familiar with my process and how the project will flow from beginning to end.

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The only real difference is that your feedback will lean more technical than the feedback you probably receive from your clients during the design phase. 

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If we’ve worked together on a development project before, this call is optional! I usually ask that you send me the design or a screen-recorded video of the design to discuss any standout functionalities that you may need so we can discuss it - but the discovery call itself isn’t super necessary if we’ve worked together before. 

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Notion Onboarding with optional kick off call

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Once you’ve decided you want to work together on the development, I’ll get you onboarded into our Notion project dashboard after you’ve paid your invoice and signed our agreement. 

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In our dashboard, you’ll have an entire lay of the land - you’ll see each step of the process in an easy to follow way along with thorough task descriptions so you know exactly what’s needed from you, where, and when it’s due.

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A large bulk of your work is handing over your files and assets to me. In the “Pre-Work” section of our dashboard, you’ll have step by step instructions on what I need and how to deliver the information/assets over to me. You’ll also have the ability to ask any questions you may have.

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Once you hand over your Figma or Adobe XD file, I’ll go through and leave any comments or questions on the design that I have for you as well as answer any questions you may have left me. My comments are usually letting you know about any limitations of the platform, or asking questions about the mobile version of a particular section. 

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I offer the option for a kick off call if major changes to the site’s design have occurred since I’ve last seen it. If not, then we’re all good to get started!

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You’ll also have an “inbox” on our Notion dashboard for you to send me messages or questions throughout the project and during your 30 day support window.  

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A common question: do I have to mockup the mobile version of the site?

Nope! That’s the perk of working with a developer that is also a designer - I don’t need mobile mockups of the design. 

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I have a fantastic understanding and dedication to translating your designs across as many breakpoints as possible, so I don’t need the mobile design explicitly laid out for me. If I have any specific questions about how you’d like a certain section of a page to look on mobile, I’ll ask inside of your Figma or Adobe XD file. 

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Monday: Development 

On the first day of our project (which will always be a Monday), I’ll shoot you a message letting you know that I’m starting for the day. I’ll get to work developing the site in Squarespace or Webflow and you’ll have access to me at any time throughout the day for questions. 

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Before I log off for the day, usually at about 5pm CST, I’ll send you a message letting you know my progress and what percentage of the site I’ll have delivered for you the next day. 

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For sites that are 5-6 pages, typically all pages (desktop and mobile versions) will be available to view on Tuesday. For sites larger than 7 pages, 50-60% of the total pages will be developed for you to view. 

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Tuesday: Feedback Round 1

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Before noon CST on Tuesday, you’ll get the link to the developed site as well as access to the Markup.io document where you can leave direct feedback on the site for me to implement. 

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Once I get your feedback, I’ll start implementing your changes and developing any remaining pages (if there are any). 

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Wednesday: Development and Mid-Week Check In

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From about 9am to 2pm CST on this day I’ll be developing any remaining pages on mobile and desktop as well as double checking that all of your feedback from the previous round has been implemented. At around 2pm, I’ll send the Markup.io link back over to you for your final round of revisions. 

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Thursday: Implementing your last round of feedback

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By midmorning on Thursday, you’ll have submitted all of your feedback and I’ll spend the day implementing that feedback and preparing for launch (if you want me to launch the site). I’ll walk you through the launch process and will start implementing the new design on your client’s website platform later that night. 

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Friday: finalization (or launch) and hand off

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Many designers end up launching the site with their client after our development week. They may want to give the client the final look of the site before implementation or there is still work they need to do on the site outside of our project together. I’m always available and prepared to launch the site during our week together if that’s what you and your client desire!

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If you want to launch the site on your own after our week is over, I’ll spend the rest of the day triple checking the site’s responsiveness and recording website training videos for you and your clients to have. 

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The Final Piece: Website Video Tutorial Hand Off

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About 5-6 days after hand off, I’ll deliver some website tutorial videos for you to give to your clients or to keep for yourself.

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I choose to record these videos instead of leaving that up to you because I’m intimately familiar with how the site is built overall, so it’s more efficient if they come from me. You can always record your own videos or do a live walkthrough with your client if you like!

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The videos span a variety of topics from basic ones such as Fluid Engine 101 up to how to replicate a certain section in Squarespace that I added some custom code too. For Webflow projects, the videos cover how to use the Editor, add new CMS items (if a CMS was used), how to use the Designer, updating the site settings, making backups, etc. 

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Taking this task off of your hands is one less thing you’ll have to do to efficiently wrap up the project!

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Working with a developer doesn’t have to be some scary process with a bunch of unknowns.

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Finding a skilled developer that’s efficient and detail oriented is crucial to making your website projects as seamless as possible. I love collaborating with designers and seeing their work and their confidence in their design skills skyrocket knowing that they have me in their back pocket for questions and for full on development work.

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Even if you want to develop the site yourself, feel free to shoot me a DM with your questions and let’s troubleshoot together!

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