A website project should not become another job on your list simply because nobody knows when the next update is due. When you are running a business, you need enough information to make decisions and plan around the launch. You should not have to assemble that information from unanswered emails.
The most useful arrangements are usually modest: a named contact, visible milestones and an agreed way to raise a concern. Put them in place before production starts, then use them consistently.
Agree where the conversation happens
Choose one main channel for project decisions. Email may be perfectly adequate for a small business website; a shared task board can help when there are more pages and contributors. The useful tool is the one both sides will actually check. A new login is not, by itself, better communication.
Record your contact at the studio, your contact within the business and who covers planned absence. Ask when messages are normally read and what response time you should expect during working hours. An acknowledgement and a finished answer are different things, particularly when a technical question needs investigation.
Keep decisions from calls in the same written thread or project record. A brief note confirming what was agreed prevents a Tuesday conversation becoming a Friday disagreement. Our guide to website project responsibilities helps identify who can make those decisions.
Give each milestone something you can recognise
“Design underway” tells you very little about what happens next. A useful milestone names a deliverable, its review date and the decision needed: an agreed page list, a first working service page or a complete preview ready for checking.
For example, a Midlands engineering firm might agree to review the homepage and a representative capability page before the remaining pages are built. Its technical director can check whether tolerances and materials are described accurately while the commercial lead checks the enquiry route.
Ask which dates depend on something from your team. If project photographs are outstanding, the plan should identify which work can continue and which approval must wait. A milestone is useful because it exposes a dependency early, not because it makes every date immovable.
Make progress updates short and predictable
Agree a rhythm suited to the programme. A weekly written update might suit a longer build; a compact project may need updates at each review point. Neither requires a meeting for the sake of having a meeting.
Each update should answer four practical questions:
- What has been completed since the last update?
- What is being worked on next?
- What information or decision is needed, from whom and by when?
- Has anything changed the next milestone or intended launch date?
A preview link makes progress easier to understand, provided the message explains what is ready for review. Otherwise, your colleagues may spend an afternoon correcting a page that is still being assembled. “Please review the service wording; mobile spacing is still in progress” gives them a useful boundary.
Keep your side of the exchange manageable
Send one considered response instead of forwarding several disconnected conversations. If you cannot meet an agreed review date, say so while there is still time to adjust the plan. Your designer needs a reliable answer more than an optimistic promise.
When a question needs a colleague’s input, give it an owner and a return date. A facilities company, for instance, might need operations to confirm its emergency coverage area. That specific question can be resolved without reopening every service description.
Use a short decision list with three states: awaiting input, agreed and changed. Record revised instructions clearly. Our guide to website feedback explains how to combine comments without sending contradictory directions.
Know what to do when an update is missed
Agree the escalation route at the outset. After the promised update or response window passes, follow up through the main channel, referring to the missing decision and its effect on your timetable. Ask for a revised update time.
If that time also passes, use the agreed secondary contact or arrange a short call. With an independent designer, that may mean a scheduled conversation rather than another department. The arrangement should still be clear.
A useful follow-up could say that the service-page review was due yesterday, the director is available until Thursday, and you need to know whether to keep that slot. It states the practical consequence without assuming a reason for the silence.
Reset the plan when the facts change
If delays start accumulating, ask for one current plan showing completed work, outstanding inputs and revised review dates. A chain of old estimates is difficult to manage. The website timeline guide explains why working time and elapsed time can differ.
For a planned rebuild, discuss these arrangements alongside the website redesign scope. Clear communication should make the project easier to run, leaving you time to run the business.