Professional website design: the key steps

A professional website isn’t judged by its homepage, but by what it does for the business: quote requests, sales, job applications, and fewer calls about simple queries. Here are the steps we follow to achieve this, and what has changed in each one since 2023.

1. Defining the scope of the project

Before we draw a single line, we work with you to set:

• measurable objectives: how many enquiries, for which services, from which customers;
• the target audiences and what they’re looking for;
• what already exists: reusable content, images, and, for a redesign, the current URLs and their traffic. This analysis is used to set up redirects, without which a redesign would result in the loss of existing search engine rankings.

2. Building the site architecture and content

The site architecture is based on your clients’ searches: one page per question, one page per service. We write or rewrite the content before creating the mock-ups: a mock-up designed around placeholder text will fall apart at the first real paragraph.

3. Designing the mock-ups

• Mobile first: this is the screen on which a large proportion of your visitors will discover your site.
• Accessibility from the mock-up stage: sufficient contrast, legible text, keyboard navigation, and clear forms. The French standard is the RGAA. Since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act has made these rules mandatory for most e-commerce sites, with the exception of micro-enterprises.
• A recognisable identity: your brand guidelines adapted for the screen, rather than a template seen elsewhere.

4. Development

Depending on the project, we build using ArteZya, our headless, no-code CMS based on MODX, or develop a bespoke solution. In both cases, there are three requirements:

• Performance, measured by Google’s three key web signals: main content displayed in under 2.5 seconds, response to a visitor’s action in under 200 milliseconds, and a stable layout. Since March 2024, responsiveness has been measured by the INP, which is more stringent than the previous indicator; our post on slow websites explains this in detail.
• Simplicity: lightweight pages, images resized to the correct dimensions, and minimal use of third-party services. The general eco-design framework for digital services, published in May 2024, sets out the methodology; our post on eco-friendly websites highlights the benefits for SMEs.
• Autonomy: your teams must be able to publish content without having to contact us.

5. Going live

Preparations for going live are underway: redirects in place, Search Console registered, audience tracking that respects consent, and forms tested in real-world conditions. We check each old URL one by one.

6. Keeping the site alive

An unmaintained website deteriorates: security vulnerabilities, abandoned plugins, out-of-date content. Maintenance, backups and updates are part of the project, as is monitoring the results set out in step 1.

What has changed since 2023

• Responsiveness matters: the INP replaced Google’s old metric in March 2024.
• Generic content is no longer enough: Google integrated its ‘useful content’ system into its major updates in 2024, and since July 2026 has been displaying AI-generated summaries above the results in France. A website must offer what a summary cannot: your experience.
• Accessibility has been a requirement for most e-commerce sites since June 2025.
• Eco-design has had its own set of guidelines since May 2024.
• Artificial intelligence is a working tool: first drafts, image variations, checks. It is no substitute for your professional expertise or proofreading.

To choose between an off-the-shelf solution and a bespoke development, read our post ‘Bespoke or off-the-shelf: how to decide’. And for a project, visit our website design page.