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What does the website design and build process look like?

What does the website design and build process look like?

By Lauren Williams

15 Jul 2025 • 6 min read

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What does the website design and build process look like?

If you’re considering a new website for your business, you might be wondering what the full journey looks like, from the very first conversation with the Mativus team to the moment your site goes live. We’ve developed a clear and collaborative process to deliver high-performance, secure, and scalable websites that align with your brand and goals.

Below, we’ll walk you through our step-by-step design and development process here at Mativus.

1. Discovery Call with Mativus

Everything starts with a conversation. During this initial call, we’ll learn more about your business, your goals for the website, and any specific requirements. This is also your chance to ask questions and get to know our design approach. The purpose is to ensure we’re aligned from the beginning and can propose the right website for your business, whether that’s a fast turnaround project or a fully bespoke build.

You can book your first discovery call with us by clicking here!

2. Sitemap (Structure of the Website)

Once we understand your goals, we map out the structure of your site. This involves listing all the key pages and organising them into a logical hierarchy. The sitemap is a visual representation of how users will navigate your site and is essential for both user experience and SEO planning. We use tools like Relume to make this collaborative and easy to understand for all of us.

3. Wireframing

Next, we create wireframes, which are a blueprint for each page on your website. Wireframes focus on layout, structure, and content placement without the distraction of design elements. This helps you visualise how your content will be presented and ensures all necessary components are included. At this stage, we’re focused on function, flow, and clarity.

4. Production Design + Prototype

Once the wireframes are approved, it’s time to add your brand’s identity into the design. We transform these ideas into designs, applying your brand guidelines, incorporating your chosen fonts, colours, and imagery. Throughout this process, we also create three responsive designs of the website: for desktop, tablet, and mobile, ensuring your site looks and functions perfectly on any device.

We then propose three distinct versions of your homepage. This gives you a clear visual choice. You’ll select your preferred version, and importantly, you can mix and match elements from the other concepts to create your final design.

Once the homepage design receives your stamp of approval, we then move on to designing the rest of your website. Upon completion of these designs, we’ll share an interactive prototype. This isn’t just a static image, like the wireframes, it’s a clickable, navigable version of your site that lets you experience it almost as if it were already live. This step is your opportunity to explore every landing page and provide your feedback before we proceed to the development stage.

To ensure your website perfectly reflects your brand, the responsibility for content and imagery varies by package:

  • Initium: For clients choosing the Initium package, you will provide all website copy and images. This allows you full control and ensures your brand’s voice and visual identity are precisely as you envision them.
  • Proventus: With the Proventus package, Mativus takes the lead by preparing the first draft of all website copy and sourcing initial images. You then have the opportunity to review these drafts and provide your revisions to fine-tune the content and select the perfect visuals.
  • Optimus: Opting for the Optimus package means we handle everything. Mativus is fully responsible for all copywriting and image sourcing. We’ll develop the content from scratch and provide up to three rounds of revisions to ensure it aligns perfectly with your vision and goals.

Click here to see the full package details

5. Development

With the prototype signed off, we begin building the site. Our development process is split into two parts:

a) Backend Components

For effortless content management, we use WordPress, integrated with Advanced Custom Fields (ACF). This powerful combination gives you complete authority and control over your website’s content, while also allowing us to design reusable components. These versatile sections can be placed on any page, making it incredibly fast and simple to expand your site with new content or pages down the line, all while guaranteeing the seamless design consistency we’ve worked hard to perfect.

To understand more about why we build our sites in components, read our blog here.

b) Frontend using GatsbyJS

The frontend of your site is built using GatsbyJS, a modern framework that allows us to deliver lightning-fast performance, improved security, and excellent SEO benefits. The result is a static site that loads quickly, even on mobile and low-bandwidth connections.

6. Review

Once development is complete, we present the fully functional site for review. This is your chance to explore the website, provide final feedback, and request any tweaks before we move on to final testing.

7. Testing on All Browsers and Devices

Before launch, we carry out a thorough testing phase. We check your site across multiple browsers (Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox) and devices (desktop, tablet, mobile) to ensure everything works perfectly and looks great. We also test for accessibility, responsiveness, and performance.

   

8. Launch

Once everything is approved and tested, it’s time to go live. We handle the deployment and ensure your site is securely hosted, tracked (with tools like Google Analytics or Tag Manager if needed), and performing at its best from day one. We also provide post-launch support to help with any early queries or updates.

Ready to Start?

Our process is designed to be clear, collaborative, and efficient. Whether you’re a business owner looking for a sleek brochure site or a marketing manager who needs a high-converting lead generation tool, we’re here to guide you through every step.

Want to chat about your project? Book a discovery call with Mativus today.

 

 

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