Preboarding Form
The Preboarding Form collects most of the information we need to put together a comprehensive proposal and accurate quote. We appreciate as much detail as possible as these responses will create the foundation of the project and we want to make sure we are aligned with your vision.
Proposal
Approximately one week after you complete the Preboarding Form, a Proposal will be sent to your email. This Proposal Packet will explain the build process, outlining the guidelines and procedures and detailing the requests that will be made at each step. The build process does require a lot from the website owner, we try to be as detailed as possible right at the beginning. The Proposal Packet also contains the Statement of Work or SOW. This document outlines the deliverables and the tasks that will be completed by Universal Code.
Consultation
Once you have received the Proposal Packet, a consultation meeting can be arranged to flesh out our ideas and answer each other’s questions. There is no pressure to make a decision – the terms of the Proposal are valid for 30 days because we understand there is a lot to research.
Contract
We include a copy of the contract with the Proposal to allow website owners more time to review the details. An example of a Maintenance Plan Agreement is included to help provide more information when choosing your after care plan. When it comes time to sign the contract, a digital version is uploaded and signed via Zoho Sign.
Onboarding Form
Once the contract has been signed, a link will be shared to complete an Onboarding Form. This form is primarily to collect the personal and project details that were not included in the Preboarding Form. These details will be integrated with the tools and systems that will be used throughout the Project. From this form we will create your billing account, your Notion Project Home Page, and your Freedcamp access.
Project Introduction
For the first two weeks of the website build process, the website owner will be learning how to use the tools required for the project: Notion, Freedcamp and Zoho.
Important links and guides can be found on your Notion Project Home Page. Consider the Notion Home Page your project’s information hub. You will find milestone overviews, explanations, suggestions for assets and website content, along with your personalized Website Owner’s Handbook.
Communications
Once the Proposal has been sent, all communications will take place in Freedcamp. There are a few reasons we have chosen to make it mandatory for every project. First, it is most important to have one source of truth for everything relating to the project. Any question about a previous communication can be easily found in the discussion threads. Don’t worry – the responses will be sent to your email, and you’ll be notified whenever there is a comment.
Some projects require collaboration with internal and external project contributors, and having more than two people involved in a task can create complicated email threads. We are no longer digging through old emails, we have threads for each topic, and collaborators can be included in the conversations.
We also use Freedcamp for our file sharing needs. Frequently there will be requests for images, graphics, copy, documents, fonts, and so on. Adding and changing files is easy – no more worrying about permissions and email attachments.
Billing
During the first few weeks you will be set up with an account to manage your payments. If you set up a monthly payment plan, you will receive your monthly invoice in your email or you can login to your client portal. To simplify an already complex process, we have standardized our payment schedules to have the due date fall on the 30th of each month.
See more about our Payment Plans here.
After Care
During the Preboarding and Onboarding process we will discuss your plans for maintenance after the website is launched. There are virtually limitless hosting options available, and Universal Code offers a range of plans to accommodate a range of needs and priorities.