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Process

How we build: from first message to launch

2026-10-05 · 6 min read · Current practice

A transparent look at the four steps every CodeXon project follows, what we ask before quoting, the quality bar we hold ourselves to, and what a client sees each week.

Four gates in a row, each brighter than the last — the four steps every project passes through.
Four gates in a row, each brighter than the last — the four steps every project passes through.

01Clarity before code

Every project starts with understanding the goal, the audience and what a successful result looks like. We agree scope and quote before development begins, so there are no surprises in the middle. If the honest answer is that a project does not need us, we say that before an invoice exists.

02The four steps

The same four steps carry a one-page site and a multi-month application. The only difference is how long each one takes.

  1. Step 01

    First, your vision.

    We talk about your idea, your audience and what a successful result means to you.

  2. Step 02

    Then, a clear plan.

    We agree on the scope, approach and quote before the development starts.

  3. Step 03

    Next, we make it real.

    Design and code come together, with opportunities for you to review and give feedback.

  4. Step 04

    Finally, ready for the world.

    We check the details together, launch your website and discuss what comes next.

03What we ask before we quote

Six questions do most of the work. A client who can answer them usually gets a proposal within days; a client who cannot usually needs a discovery stage first.

  1. Who is the site for, and what should they do when they arrive?
  2. What exists today, and what is wrong with it?
  3. Is there content, or does content need to be written and approved?
  4. Are there systems the site must talk to — payments, bookings, a CRM?
  5. Who owns the domain, the hosting and the mailboxes?
  6. What does a successful launch look like twelve months from now?

04The quality bar

These are not extras that appear when a budget is generous. They are the parts of the job that are easy to skip and expensive to notice later.

  1. Fast pages, measured on a mid-range phone rather than the developer's machine.
  2. Accessible forms, keyboard focus and readable contrast.
  3. Layouts that hold together on every screen size, checked rather than assumed.
  4. Search metadata, social preview cards and structured company data on every page.
  5. Clean code a different developer can maintain without a phone call.

05What a client sees each week

A short written update: what moved, what is blocked, and what needs a decision from the client. A link to look at the work in progress, so nothing is revealed for the first time at the end.

A project should never surprise the client twice. Once in the update, once in the work.

06After launch

Handover is a deliverable: credentials, a walkthrough recording, and documentation that explains why decisions were made. From there a client can run the site alone, or stay with us on a care plan while it grows.

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