Before closing the meeting, you should make your prospective client feel comfortable, by clearly explaining your road map. If possible, try to set targets against clear deadlines, for the first two or three steps, and try to give an estimate on the final deadline date. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. Most people can accept waiting three months or more, for their new website,  but they don’t like it when the deadline is not met.

 

The road map

 

1. Quote & quote approval
2. Competitors analysis, target audience analysis
3. Explaining – in brief – the content and functionalities
4. Discussing the look and feel, mood board
5. Defining site structure
6. Drawing wireframes for each page
7. Copywriting
8. Refining wireframes after feedback
9. Programming the website and defining the look and feel of it
10. Presentation of the first version website
11. Processing feedback
12. Presentation of the final version
13. Setting up social media channels
14. Final SEO fine tuning
15. Set up newsletter-platform and prepare first mailing
16. Launch website
17. Send out mailing, and report launch on social media
18. Follow up and analysis

 

Note

Depending on your personal work flow, the order of designing and programming can change. When starting from scratch in Photoshop,  you’ll first of all design it.  But, when starting from a web template,  like Bootstrap,  the programming/designing will happen simultaneously.

Some web designers, me included, quit the design stage in Photoshop, as it takes too much time to create all the different versions (desktop, tablet, phone).  However,  with a responsive template, you can see if all your changes are accepted or approved (you design it through CSS),  and you see all Javascript interactivity.
I know Adobe have worked hard on it… but still I prefer a live environment. This is my personal opinion.

Good luck!