Corporate websites and secure eCommerce

There is no useful standard timeline because two projects that look similar from the outside can require very different amounts of work.

After the initial requirements are understood, the project is broken into stages and a realistic schedule can be prepared. That schedule should account not only for development, but also for content preparation, integrations, testing, feedback, approvals, and any dependencies on external providers.

Delays are often caused less by the number of pages and more by unresolved decisions, missing content, unavailable access to third-party systems, or requirements that change after development has started. Identifying those dependencies early makes the delivery date much easier to predict.

No. Development can usually begin before every piece of content is finished.

What matters is knowing what content will be needed, who is responsible for preparing it, and when it must be available. Brand materials, existing copy, product information, images, legal texts, translations, and access to current systems can therefore be prepared alongside the technical work when appropriate.

For larger catalogues or multilingual projects, it is especially useful to agree on the content format early. Receiving hundreds or thousands of products in a consistent structure is much easier to work with than trying to reorganise incomplete information shortly before launch.

First, we determine whether the request is a clarification of something already agreed, a replacement for an existing requirement, or entirely new functionality.

If it changes the scope, its effect on development effort, dependencies, testing, budget, and delivery is assessed before the work is added. Small adjustments can often be absorbed into the current stage, while larger changes may be treated separately or scheduled for a later release.

This gives both sides a clear record of what has changed and avoids reaching the end of the project with a substantially different scope from the one originally estimated.

Pricing is based on the work required to deliver the agreed result rather than on a simple price per page or product.

The estimate considers areas such as the amount of custom development, design requirements, business rules, data migration, external dependencies, integrations, administrative functionality, and the amount of testing required. Technical uncertainty also matters: extending a well-documented API is much easier to estimate than connecting to a poorly documented legacy system.

Where appropriate, essential functionality and optional improvements can be priced separately. Third-party costs such as hosting, commercial extensions, licences, payment-provider fees, or external services should also be identified separately so it is clear what is included in the development price.

Important business accounts such as the domain, hosting, payment services, analytics platforms, and other core services should normally remain under the client's control rather than being permanently tied to a development provider.

For custom-developed software, source-code ownership and usage rights are defined as part of the project agreement. Open-source packages, commercial software, fonts, plugins, APIs, and other third-party components remain subject to their respective licences.

At handover, the client should have the administrative access and agreed technical information needed to operate the platform or give another qualified team access to it in the future. The objective is to avoid unnecessary vendor lock-in.

Yes. The development team does not need to own every part of the project.

We can work from an existing design, collaborate with an external designer or agency, coordinate technical requirements with an internal IT department, or develop the platform while another team handles content, SEO, advertising, infrastructure, or product management.

The important part is defining responsibilities and handover points early. It should be clear who supplies designs and content, who provides access to external systems, who approves each stage, and who makes the final decision when different teams are involved.

In most cases, a lengthy shutdown is unnecessary. The replacement platform can be developed and tested separately while the existing website continues operating.

Before launch, the migration process can be rehearsed and the final switch planned around the systems that contain changing data. An informational website may require very little coordination, while an active online store may need a short controlled period for synchronising recent orders, customers, stock, or other records before the new platform becomes authoritative.

DNS, redirects, integrations, and rollback procedures should also be planned before the switch. If company email uses the same domain, its DNS records need particular care so that moving the website does not accidentally interrupt email delivery.