Getting Started with InMotion Hosting Professional Website Services

You signed off on a Professional Website Services project, whether that is a Custom Website Design, a QuickSite build, or a Site Rebuild. Now you want to know what happens next. This guide walks you through onboarding, communication, feedback, and handover so you know what to expect at every stage. By the end, you will know exactly how to reach your project team, review your site, and take the keys once it launches.

How Professional Website Services Projects Begin

You start a Professional Website Services project by working with Sales. There is no self-service checkout for these projects, so you consult with Sales before you buy. After purchase, InMotion Hosting emails you an intake questionnaire as part of onboarding. This questionnaire captures your goals for the site, your brand assets, examples of designs you like, and any content or features you already have in mind.

Onboarding also includes a one-on-one call with your project manager. The more detail you provide in the questionnaire and on that call, the faster your project moves into design and development. If you want a head start on gathering brand assets and content before that call, see How to Prepare for the Web Design Process.

Once onboarding wraps up, your project manager takes over as your single point of contact and sets the timeline for what happens next.

Understanding Your Project Timeline and Milestones

Your project manager sets timelines and launch goals at the start of your project, broken into milestones so you always know what is happening and what comes next. How long that takes depends on the service you chose and how quickly you can turn around content and approvals.

For Custom Website Design, most projects are completed within four to six weeks. QuickSite is the fastest way to launch, especially when your content and images are ready at kickoff. It takes longer if the team creates content for you or if approvals take time on your end.

Several factors can push a project past its target date. Extra revision rounds, custom functionality such as a complex e-commerce store, slow content or approvals, and third-party integrations all add time.

If you need your site live by a hard deadline, ask your project manager about a rush order as early as possible. Keeping your content, feedback, and approvals moving is the single biggest thing you control to stay on schedule. Your project manager is who to loop in to keep that moving.

How to Communicate with Your Project Manager

Your dedicated project manager is your single point of contact throughout your project. They coordinate the design and development team on your behalf, keep the project on schedule, and answer your questions as they come up.

Email is the main way to reach your project team. Your project manager emails you from the address for your service, so reply to that email thread. Your message then reaches the right team and stays attached to your project record.

If you can’t find that email, contact the InMotion Hosting Sales team and they will connect you with the Professional Website Services team.

If a live conversation works better, your project manager sends you their own booking link. Pick a 30-minute Google Meet slot at a time that works for you.

With a clear channel open, you are ready to start sending feedback on your site as it takes shape.

Providing Feedback and Managing Revisions

InMotion Hosting uses Feedbucket, a WordPress plugin, to collect your feedback on the site your team is building. Feedbucket lets you click any part of your site and leave a comment exactly where you want a change. Your notes stay attached to the specific element instead of getting lost in a long email thread.

Your plan includes a set number of revision rounds for design and development, and your project manager confirms exactly how many at kickoff. Consolidating your feedback into each round, rather than sending changes one at a time as you notice them, keeps the project moving. It also keeps your revisions within the rounds your plan includes.

Once you and your project manager sign off on design and development, your site goes live, and a new set of tools becomes available to you.

Accessing and Updating Your Website After Completion

Once your site is complete, InMotion Hosting gives you full access to your WordPress dashboard. From there you can edit text, swap images, and publish new pages or posts whenever you want to make a change.

If you would rather not manage those updates yourself, an InMotion Care maintenance plan keeps your site current on your behalf. For your next steps once the site is live, see What to Do After Your Website Launches.

Whether you manage the site yourself or hand it to InMotion Care, you need to know exactly what you are receiving when the project wraps up.

Understanding the Website Handover Process

What you receive at handover depends on your plan. The Professional Site and Signature Site Custom Website Design plans include a training session, also called a handoff meeting. Those two plans also include a web style guide.

If your plan includes a training session, it covers how to make the common updates you are most likely to need. Your project manager can confirm exactly what your handover includes. Ask your project manager if you are not sure whether your plan includes a training session.

Most projects run smoothly through to handover. If content or approvals stall somewhere along the way, here is what happens to your project.

What to Do If Your Project Is Paused

A project usually pauses because it has gone inactive. Most often, the team is waiting on your content, feedback, or approvals and has not heard back for an extended period.

Resuming is straightforward. Reply to the most recent email thread from your project manager and let them know you are ready to continue. If any details need refreshing after a long pause, your project manager will tell you what to send over before work picks back up.