Table of Contents
Types of Revisions
Scope Creep from Unmanaged Revisions
The Role of the Design Contract and Statement of Work (SOW)
What Constitutes One Revision Round?
Industry Norms for Initial Revision Allocations
How Many Revisions Do You Really Need?
Maximizing Effectiveness
When to Stop Revising
Handling Revisions Outside the Agreed Scope
The Final Approval Sign-off
As a web design agency, we at Prominent Web Design, understand that revisions are necessary within the web design process to ensure that your website is designed in a way that is consistent with your brand vision.
That said, the real challenge can come from not knowing when enough is enough. Too many rounds of design revisions can really drag projects down, while too few might leave you with regrets of what could or should have been.
Types of Revisions
Web design revisions begin after the initial mockup has been created. This is the time when you, as a client, get to review and request adjustments to the web design mockup. With this in mind, there are essentially two types of revisions.
Functional Revision
This type of revision is meant to adjust how the website works. An example of this could be a request to fix the website navigation to improve user experience and improve conversions.
Aesthetic Revision
This type of revision changes the visual appearance of your web design. An example of this might be changing colors to better match your brand or selecting font families that look more appealing or consistent with your brand.
Scope Creep from Unmanaged Revisions
Without limits, web design revisions can balloon into scope creep, meaning small requests can turn into significant changes that go beyond what was initially agreed upon. From the web design perspective, scope creep can eat up more hours of time than originally budgeted for. Thus, when scope creep occurs, web design clients can end up paying more.
To avoid this, a good web design team will track changes from the start. If a request strays, they will flag it right away. That way, your web design team can control the process and keep costs in line.
The Role of the Design Contract and Statement of Work (SOW)
Contracts lay down the rules for web design revisions before work begins. This can be found in a revisions clause or a statement of work (SOW) which details how many revision rounds clients are entitled to.
What Constitutes One Revision Round?
One revision round means a full set of feedback that your web design team addresses before the next. This could be one email with notes, as opposed to bits and pieces spread over several days. That is because piecemeal comments drag things out which inefficient for both clients and their web design team. Instead, it is best for clients to put together a list of their requests.
Industry Norms for Initial Revision Allocations
Most web design teams offer two to three rounds for most simple projects. More complex and larger websites, for say e-commerce platforms, can require more.
The standard web design revision rounds depend on scope. Some web design agencies may charge for extra revision rounds.
How Many Revisions Do You Really Need?
Project complexity, timeline and budget are important determining factors for revision needs. A basic website might take two rounds, while a larger one with many pages would likely require more.
Maximizing Effectiveness
Not all changes carry equal weight. Separate them into critical fixes (e.g. broken links) vs minor ones (such as small spacing tweaks).
When to Stop Revising
A good rule of thumb is to stop when tweaks add little value. In other words, stop when you reach the point of diminishing returns on design revisions.
Handling Revisions Outside the Agreed Scope
When asks go beyond the original scope of work, such as the addition of a chat feature, pause and discuss. This can trigger a formal add-on for the extra cost and time.
The Final Approval Sign-off
Some web designers will end revisions with a formal design sign-off. It is a simple doc stating the work matches specs and you are happy.
At Prominent Web Design, we generally do not put limitations on the number revision rounds. We will do as many revisions as it takes to make our clients happy.
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