Pre-Build Scope Lock (Onboarding)

Pre-Build Scope Lock (Onboarding)

1. 01

   Cap the page count and template family before the kickoff call ends

   Write the agreed page ceiling into the statement of work. A five-page brochure build and a forty-page catalog are the same line item on a retainer invoice unless the ceiling is documented.

2. 02

   Confirm who owns the domain, DNS, and hosting account credentials

   Ask for registrar access on day one. Builds stall for days when the client's former developer holds the DNS record and nobody can reach them.

3. 03

   Inventory the client's existing assets and flag every gap

   List logo files, photography, brand fonts, and copy. Mark each item as supplied, to be sourced, or to be written by the agency, then price the gaps.

4. 04

   Decide whether the build runs on a white-label or client-owned account

   White-label platforms such as Sitejet Studio and InstaWP let an agency resell hosting and billing under its own brand, which changes the handoff terms later. Settle this before the first page is drafted.

5. 05

   Set the revision allowance in writing, with a per-round definition

   Two rounds of consolidated feedback is a common floor. Unlimited rounds on a fixed-fee build is how a two-week project becomes a six-week one.

6. 06

   Name the single client-side approver and the response window

   One approver, one consolidated feedback document, 48-hour turnaround. Feedback arriving from four stakeholders in four formats doubles the QA pass.

7. 07

   Record the launch date and work backward to a content-freeze date

   Content freeze typically lands five business days before launch. Anything submitted after that date moves to a post-launch change request.