Works on every screen
Layouts are designed to adapt from a phone to a wide desktop monitor.
From the first call to launch day: the five stages of a Code Smithers project, what you will see along the way, and what we need from you.
Typical for a business website, plus a few days to launch. Software projects are scoped individually.
Nothing moves on until you have seen the result and agreed.
Follow the current stage, the milestones and any payments due, in one place.
We build in five stages: Discovery, Design, Build, Review and Live. Each one ends with something you can see and approve, so you always know where the project stands and what happens next.
Here is how a project runs, why we work this way, and where you fit in. Every stage ends with something you can see.
“Technology should fit the way your business works, not the other way round.”
Timings are typical for a business website. Larger sites and custom software take longer, and we give you a specific estimate before you commit to anything.
We start with a kick-off call. We ask about your business, your customers, what you want the project to achieve and what isn’t working today. Then we write it up as a project brief, so everyone is working from the same page.
We turn the brief into how the project will look and flow: layouts, colours, typography and how a visitor moves from page to page, on phones as well as desktops. You see this before we build it, because changing a design is far cheaper than changing finished code.
This is where the approved design becomes a working product: pages, forms, features and integrations, and for custom software, the workflows and the database behind them. Security basics go in from the start, not at the end.
You test it, we fix what you find. We also check it ourselves on different screens, and anything that takes payments is tried in Paystack’s test mode before real money is involved.
We go through a final checklist and launch. After launch we can keep looking after the site, so it doesn’t slowly fall out of date.
Every project can have a private portal. Open your link and you see which stage the project is in, when each stage started, and a checklist of milestones with their due dates and notes. There is no account to create and no password to remember.
When a deposit or milestone payment is due, the milestone shows a Pay deposit or Pay milestone button that opens a secure Paystack checkout. Once Paystack confirms the payment, the portal marks it as paid.
Read more about how the portal and payments are protected on our Security & Trust page.
Layouts are designed to adapt from a phone to a wide desktop monitor.
Images in modern formats, fonts that don’t block the page, and extras such as chat widgets that load only after the main content is ready.
Page titles, descriptions and a sitemap, so search engines understand what each page is about.
HTTPS, protective headers, cleaned form input and secret keys kept on the server. See Security & Trust.
Where it makes sense, content you will change often is something you can edit yourself, and we explain how at handover.
Good projects are a partnership. The things that most affect the schedule are all in your hands:
A launched website is not finished. Software needs updates, backups need checking and small changes keep coming up. Our care plans look after this from USD 25 a month, covering site health and SSL checks, regular backups, and security and software updates, with more hours for changes on the higher plans.
Not sure what your project needs? Our services page lists plans with prices, and you can get an instant estimate by picking the pages and features you want.
Tell us what you want to build, improve or solve. The first call is where every project begins.
Code Smithers: technology, software development, and digital solutions for businesses and entrepreneurs.Tell us what you want to build, improve or solve. We can help turn the requirement into a practical digital solution.