A new business owner needs a website before her shop opens in six weeks. She asks a web design studio how long it will take. The studio's page does not say. She waits two days for a reply, which says "it depends." She contacts another studio, which explains its typical timelines, what could slow things down and asks for her deadline. She books with the second.
Timeline questions come early, and honest answers win clients.
What clients ask
Clients usually ask how long a website takes, whether it can be ready by a certain date, what the stages are, what they need to provide and when, what slows projects down and whether a rush option exists.
Example conversations
These scripts use information a studio might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Client: How long does a new website take? Assistant: The process page explains that a typical small business website takes around four to eight weeks, depending on the number of pages, features and how quickly content and feedback are ready. Could you share your deadline and roughly how many pages you need?
Client: What do I need to provide? Assistant: The page explains that you'll need to provide your text, images and logo, or the studio can help with copywriting and photography for an extra fee.
Client: What slows things down? Assistant: The page explains that the most common delays are content that isn't ready and slow feedback on designs. The studio will agree a timeline with you at the start.
Explaining the stages
A simple list of stages, such as discovery, design, build, review and launch, with rough timings, helps clients understand where the time goes.
Feedback rounds
Clients often ask how many rounds of changes are included. Explaining the number of feedback rounds, and how quickly the studio needs responses to stay on schedule, helps clients plan their time. A client who knows that each round needs a reply within a few days is far more likely to keep the project moving.
Launch and handover
Clients also want to know what happens on launch day, whether the old site will be switched off and how they will learn to update the new one. A short explanation of the launch process removes last-minute worry and makes the final week of the project smoother for everyone.
Content is usually the bottleneck
Many projects wait on the client's content. Explaining this early, and offering help, keeps projects on schedule.
Urgent deadlines
Clients who needed it yesterday are common in many trades, as described in timeline questions from clients who needed it yesterday. Being honest about what is realistic prevents disappointment.
Quotes and briefs
Timelines depend on scope, which is covered in website quote requests without a brief.
After launch
Clients also ask what happens after launch, covered in hosting and maintenance questions after launch.
Clear answers in other trades
Retailers lose sales when they cannot answer simple availability questions, as described in is it in stock, the question retail websites fumble. Timeline questions work the same way for studios.
Answering at any hour
SpideyChat for web design studios answers timeline questions from your own pages at any hour and captures deadlines for the studio.
A process page
Publish your stages, typical timelines and what clients need to provide. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.