When you sign off a website project and you hand it over and
your part in it is effectively done, it is such a good feeling.
Client's happy, you're happy, and most importantly, if you are a creative
like me, you're like, "Ugh, that was a really good, satisfying , brilliant
project. I never want to see it again."
It's one of those things where we've given it our all.
We've looked at it so much, we can see it behind our eyelids while they are
closed, and it's time to move on.
So today, I am going to help you in making sure that that transition of
moving on is such a good one that the only reason that your clients would
come back to you are for all the right reasons, because they want to work with
you again, because they're recommending you, not because they're coming back
saying, "Something's not right about the website and I need you to fix it."
all of us can tend to have a bit of a slightly varying, sign-off process,
and this episode is going to help you in really thinking about what you want
your sign-off process to be, how to standardize it, and how to kind of
hit those markers every single time.
You ready?
Let's get started.
Hi, I'm Holly.
I am the host of Websites Made Simple.
I am the founder of two website design companies, This
Demanding Life and Simply Sites.
And I am here to help you lovely website designers and developers in
having a much happier, much better, much more cohesive website career.
So let's get on it.
The very first thing I recommend is that you create some form of checklist so
that you can literally work through it on what I call as the website pack down.
we are literally packing it up to send it away.
Now, I use Trello for this.
I've also used ClickUp in the past.
I work off a MacBook and an iPhone.
I sometimes use my Notepad app.
But make sure you have something that really works for you, that is a checklist
that you can click and fill in the checks.
And if you don't know where to start, or you don't have one, or you think this
just sounds like the only way I'm going to get there is trial and error and I don't
want the errors, then I have my very own checklist that I will be sharing with you.
And all you need to do is go to websitesmadesimple.co.uk/sign-off-checklist
You can also find the link in the show notes as well, in the checklist
you want to have a cookie notice.
Have you put a cookie notice on the website?
Now, obviously there are some variations here.
Sometimes I build websites that just don't have any cookies on them, that
the client doesn't have any tracking connected to it or anything like that,
so the website can go live without it.
But there's no point investing in a website if you're not gonna do at least
a small amount of SEO, and part of that SEO would be hooking that website up to
analytics or a Google My Business profile.
And whether that gets done on your watch or whether it gets done after you've
signed off the website, having a cookies notice, the GDPR compliant one that links
to your privacy policy is going to make a really big difference here as well.
So do use a cookies plugin.
There are loads of free ones.
You don't necessarily have to go for one of the paid for ones,
but do make sure you've got a cookies notice on the website.
Next thing is have you done a PageSpeed Insights report?
And if you haven't, just Google PageSpeed Insights and
Google's own tools will come up.
You can also look at Pingdom.
You can also look at LightSpeed.
But I just prefer using Google's one because, you know, it's
Google that we're really trying to impress with these websites.
So go with that.
So go to PageSpeed Insights, pop in the URL, wait for it to run the
report, and see what the report says.
I like to, first of all, check that everything is as it should be, that
the accessibility is 100, that the SEO structure is 100, that best practices
is 100, and that the page speeds are
in the high 90s as well.
And I also just like to go through that report and just see if there's anything
there that might need correcting or that I could just pay a tiny bit of attention
to before I send the website live.
Once that's all done, I might rerun the report if I'm going to
do a little bit more work to it.
I screenshot those results, and those results also say the time
and date that the report was run.
And I like to keep a record of these, A, because it gives me something that
I can, you know, show clients these are the results I get from my website.
B, I put it in the website manuals that I give to the clients.
They have individual personalized website manuals that tell them how to work their
website once we've signed off the website.
And I like to put those scores in there as well so that they know I've
done a great job on their website.
And C, sometimes you get other people who will come in and work on the website
afterwards, like an SEO specialist or someone else who will try and convince
the website owner that you haven't done the job properly or whatever
else, and it gives me something there to say, "This was the result of your
website on the day it went live."
And it also means that if anyone else mucks up the website you've
still got that record as well.
So if you haven't been creating these free reports on PageSpeed
Insights, do start doing that.
Add it to your checklist as well. Something I have forgotten
on more than one occasion.
Now, in my defense, I will say that I have built hundreds of websites over the years.
You're gonna like this one.
Make sure you've created an admin account for the website owner.
a few times I've sent the website live and sent up the user manual and
like, "Oh, there you go." And they're like, "That's lovely, Holly, but,
um, how do I access the website?"
So don't expect them to know how to log into the website or anything else.
I also recently updated my website manuals as well to include this information in
the manual, how to log into the website.
If you do not have a website manual for your clients, A, you're missing
a trick because they can always you know, when, if they come back
to you saying, "How do I do this?
How do I do that?" You can say, "Go and look at the manual.
It's in there." And B, it just means you don't get caught in
the weeds of all of that stuff.
But if you haven't created a manual for them before, contact me at
hello@websitesmadesimple.co.uk, and I will share with you the template I use
for my website manuals as well, because it's just such a good thing to create
for the client, and it leaves a really good impression with them as well.
So make sure they have an admin account.
Make sure they know how and where to log into that admin account as well
Next on the checklist, if, um, they have anything code tracking based that
needs to go on the website, you need to do that before you hand it over.
They are not going to know how to do it themselves.
They are website owners, not website designers or developers.
So we are talking about if they have Google Analytics that need hooking up,
whether they've got Google container tags, whether you have scripts running
for mailing software, whether you have pixels for things like Meta
or running ads, anything like that, you need to make sure that's done
before the website goes live as well.
And when you are putting this in there as well, it's double the reason
to check the cookies policy as well.
If you are using the Site Kit plugin from Google which often considering Google
likes to have fast websites, the Site Kit plugin can be the one that actually slows
down websites, but it doesn't slow it down enough for it to not be worth using.
So do bear that in mind.
They also have on the Site Kit plugin the option that it can't run any cookies until
someone's clicked on the cookie banner to say that they're happy with that as well.
So just configure it how you want to configure it as well.
is there.
Another thing I would say is test the website on an incognito browser and just
make sure that everything is running exactly as it is because, you know,
we all have experience of it caching, and it showing us one thing where we
have it open on all the different tabs for all the different pages where we've
been working, working, working on it.
And it's showing the client something else.
So really do make sure you've checked it out on an incognito browser.
Make sure you've also checked it on mobile view.
Make sure that you have also done everything for mobile view.
It can be really right at the end like we think, "Oh, can't I just
leave this to the theme?" No, we can't leave it to the theme.
And your clients will check it on a mobile view as well.
And the last thing you want is just that back-and-forth ping-ponging with clients.
You want to have this really clean ending to it.
And I can tell you, I've had a really recent experience with a client where
it's gone back and forth, back and forth at the sign-off stage because
the client decided that she didn't want to work any of the school
holidays, so she delayed the sign-off.
Then she signed it off, and then she came back 'cause she hadn't looked at the
mobile version, and it went back, forth, back, forth, and neither of us had a
really good experience right at the end.
And it's … it can be hard when clients suddenly prioritize something else like
a school holiday or something like that.
So having a checklist really helps out here because you can just check it
along, and you know where you're at.
And so if you are picking something up and putting it down a little
bit, you always know where your launchpad is for that as well.
So the final stage in this part of the checklist is has the
client signed off on the project?
Have you checked with them that they are happy to publish this website?
Have you checked that they have checked it on their mobile and
checked it on a desktop and that they are happy to publish?
And you need to use wording around that.
Are you happy to sign off the site so we can send it live now?
Are you happy for me to publish the website, which will send it live?
Use terminology that the client understands, and make sure you have
that in writing over email, over them clicking a button, or whatever it is.
It is a really important stage of the project.
For me, I also have my payment terms are 50% deposit and 50% on completion when
we are ready to send the website live.
So when I say to them, "Are you happy to sign this off?" I'm also
sending the invoice at that point, so it's a really clear signal of
this project is wrapping up now.
So have a think about how you handle that part of the process.
So slightly technical stuff now, and the reason that I've put this after
the client signing off the project is because sometimes they stay with us
for hosting, and that's great because generally we'll have all of the setup
done from when we built the site.
I tend to build on a temporary domain anyway
Sorry, I had to pause you 'cause, uh, Dylan came thundering down the stairs.
He is the only one I've h- got home this weekend 'cause he
was competing this weekend.
Right, where were we?
We were on… Oh, uh, the technical thing
So if you've been hosting the website on a temporary domain, which is what
I always recommend people do when they are building websites, because then
you don't hand over the website until it's been paid for, and it can really
help sort out that sort of payment terms and everything with the client.
But if you've hosted it yourself, you'll have all of your settings there.
But often, and I particularly find this with custom-build websites, clients may
want it hosted on their own hosting.
And so when they do that, as part of the project, I consider it to
be our job to move the website over to their hosting for them.
Some people don't, and whatever your process is, your process is it.
But let's say that you are moving it for them, that you're migrating the website.
So the first thing once it's migrated is you need to check that
the website has an SSL certificate.
And if it doesn't, you need to support the client in getting one.
So whether that's doing it through their provider or however you want to recommend,
but they need an SSL certificate.
And then once they have that, have this as a checkbox on your list,
make sure that everything is loading
over HTTPS.
And it can be just as simple as, you know, running a script for enforce HTTPS so that
everything that goes over that connection is completely secure there as well.
And that caching plugins, if you're using one of those, make sure
that they are loading everything.
And I can often find if we are using some third-party software like mailing
software Kit is a real one for this, that it doesn't load the forms if
you have a caching plugin on there.
It's really annoying.
Kit really needs to do better with it because lots of the other ones do work,
but this one often doesn't, so we need to fiddle around with that as well.
It also might be that if you're trying to load off canvases or slide-ins or
something like that, you may need to look at the caching settings as well.
Again, what will really help you here is checking the site on an incognito browser
once you've sent it live and moved it onto the hosting there as well You want to make
sure that the email address on the contact forms is sending to the correct email.
Don't just put the client's email in there and hope for the best.
Do send a test email.
Do make sure that people are receiving the emails, because you may need to install
an SMTP plugin on the website to ensure that they do get those emails as well.
And I would also have it back up to the database as well.
Most forms will have this as, um, standard.
If you're a WordPress developer and you are still using Contact 7
forms, oh my goodness, there are so much better software out there.
But if you are still using them, there's a plugin called Flamingo, which will
save it to the database for you as well.
But make sure that as well as emailing forms, that they are there in the
database as well so that nothing gets missed as well with that.
And make sure that with the forms, with the saving to the database settings,
that they are all GDPR compliant as well.
We need to make sure within the practice, within the privacy policy, that the
website is supporting the client in how they are handling their data as well
So that brings us on to your own admin process.
You'll see what I mean by having this as a title here, and this
is your final checklist, and this is a little bit the one for you.
Have you organized training for the client so they know how to use their website?
And again, that could be you might run an hour-long session on Zoom where you
record the session and you show them how to do stuff, or it might be that you
create a website manual the way I do.
And what I have with my website manuals is I have a load of videos in
there, like video tutorials of how to change an image, how to update some
text, how to choose the right titles, how to do this, that and the other.
And then I just do a personalized walkthrough of the person's
website in an introduction video.
It's about five minutes long.
It just shows them where everything is on the website.
It shows them what plugins are on the website, where to find things.
Um, so it means that I just copy- I use this template for the website manual.
I put this five-minute video in there.
I send it off to the client, and essentially, my training process is
very, very quick from my point of view.
But I will say that it took me years to perfect this process as well.
So organize training for your clients however you do.
Have that as a check on your checklist.
Make sure that clients can log in to the website.
So I have the website email the client their admin login link, so they can
set their own password, so I don't have anything to do with the passwords.
Really encourage your client to do it there and then, so they don't come back
to you kind of weeks later saying, "Oh, the link's expired," with that one.
Make sure finally that they are happy with everything.
This is your very last chance to have this completely signed up.
And Really importantly, if you are a WordPress designer or developer, make
sure they know how to run updates on their website if you're not handling
that for them or if they're not having someone doing the maintenance for them.
I have a page on my website user manuals, and it is actually typed.
So rather than an instruction video, it says, "Look out for this, run this,
click this, click that." It is so important to keep websites secure, and
clients won't know to do it themselves.
So really do encourage them that, A, they know how to do it, and B,
that they set a schedule, whether it's weekly or fortnightly, that
they are running these updates.
It's really, really important.
Make sure they also know what happens next if they want to update the
website or get in touch with you.
So, that could be in your terms of service that you might just want to draw their
attention to, or a chatty thing at the end of an email that just says, you know, "I'm
so, so lovely to have worked with you.
If you'd like any work done again in future, look forward to hearing from you.
It will be considered a new project, even if it's on the same website."
And again, that's just kind of quite a clear clear directive of where
your work ends with that as well.
And once they have said, yes, they're happy, it's all been signed off, ask
them for a review or recommendation.
Make it really easy for them to do it.
I always put a link in the final email, say, "If you enjoyed working together,
I'd love if you could give me a review.
Here's a Google link.
Here's a link to my LinkedIn recommendations as well." Because if
you don't ask, you don't get, and people might do an announcement and tag you
in the announcement, but you want that review sitting on your Google profile
or your LinkedIn profile or wherever it is to make sure you've done that.
Very finally, what is a website designer's responsibility and what is
not after the website's been complete.
So I mentioned earlier in this show about what happens if someone
else gets involved in the website and says, "You've done it wrong."
And I say, "Well, go to your checklist on this." So if someone comes and says,
"I've had an SEO specialist," or someone like that, "working on the website,
and there's something you've done wrong here," it's … The first thing
I would say is get in touch with me.
I do crisis calls with web designers all the time, and I'll be able to tell you
what is your responsibility to fix and what is not your responsibility to fix.
So you could drop in on LinkedIn, and you can find me there at Holly C.
Christie, or you can email me at hello at websites made simple dot co dot
uk, or go onto the website and you will see that there's a form there.
You can even voice note it, and I will respond to you.
So I would say if you do end up in this situation, it can
be a little bit shocking.
You think, "Oh my gosh, I did everything right. I did- I worked to the best
practices. I worked to what I know." And sometimes it's just a case of
we don't know what we don't know.
And being very collaborative can really help here.
So rather than saying, "Well, it's all signed off and I've done my checklist.
Here I go," look at what you can do to help.
Look at where it would be considered a new project or whether it's actually
fixing the existing one as well.
But having your checklist, this checklist that I've got, again, you can find
it at websitesmadesimple.co.uk/sign, S-I-G-N, hyphen off hyphen checklist,
and it will make sure that you are hitting all of those goals.
That's it for me this week.
It's been a slightly longer this week, uh, one this week, but I
hope it has really helped and is going to help you going forward.
And until next time, enjoy your website business
I don't know why I said that.
I don't like hear- saying happy designing, but I don't know what to do.
All right, I'm gonna do until next time.
No, I'm gonna do I'll see you next time.
Okay
So I hope you've enjoyed this episode.
I'd love to hear from you.
Do let me know about it at hello@websitesmadesimple.co.uk,
and I will see you next time.