One of the most common and difficult problems plaguing web design projects is scope creep. The client sets out with one goal in mind, but this gradually expands, evolves, or changes altogether during the design process - and the next thing you know, you're not only designing and building a website, but also a web app, emails, and push notifications.

This isn't necessarily a problem for designers, as it can often lead to more work. But if the increased expectations aren't matched by an increase in budget or timeline, the project can rapidly become utterly unrealistic.

The sitemap provides the foundation for any well-designed website. It helps give designers a clear idea of the website's information architecture and explains the relationships between the various pages and content elements.

Building a site without a sitemap is like building a house without a blueprint. And that rarely turns out well.

The next step is to build the wireframe. Wireframes provide a framework for storing the site's visual design and content elements, and can help identify potential challenges and gaps with the sitemap.

Once your website's framework is in place, you can start with the most important aspect of the site: the written content.

First, content engages readers and drives them to take the actions necessary to fulfill a site's goals. This is affected by both the content itself (the writing), and how it's presented (the typography and structural elements).

Second, Content also boosts a site's visibility for search engines. The practice of creation and improving content to rank well in search is known as search engine optimization, or SEO.

Getting your keywords and key-phrases right is essential for the success of any website. I always use Google Keyword Planner. This tool shows the search volume for potential target keywords and phrases, so you can hone in on what actual human beings are searching on the web.

Finally, it's time to create the visual style for the site. This part of the design process will often be shaped by existing branding elements, colour choices, and logos, as stipulated by the client. But it's also the stage of the web design process where a good web designer can really shine.

Images are taking on a more significant role in web design now than ever before. Not only do high-quality images give a website a professional look and feel, but they also communicate a message, are mobile-friendly, and help build trust.

By now, you've got all your pages and defined how they display to the site visitor, so it's time to make sure it all works. Combine manual browsing of the site on a variety of devices with automated site crawlers to identify everything from user experience issues to simple broken links.

Once everything's working beautifully, it's time to plan and execute your site launch! This should include planning both launch timing and communication strategies - i.e., when will you launch and how will you let the world know? After that, it's time to break out the bubbly.