"Looks great, go ahead"
The designer shares the homepage and inner page designs as a Figma link. The client's marketing manager replies "looks great, go ahead" on a Friday. The developer builds it over the following weeks. On the staging review, the client's MD sees the site for the first time and wants a different hero layout, a new navigation structure and a colour change.
The project manager points out that the design was signed off. The client says the marketing manager did not have authority to sign it off, and anyway they only approved the general direction, not every detail. The Figma file has changed several times since that Friday, so nobody is quite sure which version was approved.
Why sign-offs do not hold
- Approval is an informal reply to an email, not a clear decision on a specific version.
- The person approving is not always the person with the final say.
- Figma files are living documents, so "the design" keeps changing after approval.
- Clients do not understand what approving a stage means for later changes.
- Studios want to keep the project moving and accept a quick yes rather than wait for the right person.
The stages exist in the proposal. The discipline around them exists nowhere.
What reopened stages cost
Redesigning during the build means work done twice, often without extra payment. Timelines stretch and other projects are squeezed. The relationship becomes tense because both sides feel they are in the right. The project margin that looked healthy at proposal stage is gone by launch.
The staged sign-off we build
- The project's stages are set from your proposal: for example sitemap, wireframes, visual design, content, build and launch.
- At kick-off, the client names their approvers for each stage, including anyone with the final say. This is recorded and shown on every approval request.
- When a stage is ready, a fixed snapshot is created: exported frames from Figma, a PDF of the sitemap, or a staging URL at a specific build.
- Each named approver receives a sign-off page showing the snapshot and a short plain-English note on what approving this stage means for later changes, taken from your terms.
- Approvers approve or request changes on the page. The stage is only signed off when every required approver has approved.
- The approved snapshot is stored with names and dates. Later change requests that touch a signed-off stage are automatically marked as such.
| Stage | What is approved | Snapshot stored |
|---|---|---|
| Sitemap | Pages and structure | PDF of the sitemap |
| Wireframes | Layout and content blocks | Exported frames |
| Visual design | Look and feel of templates | Exported frames at that version |
| Build | Working pages on staging | Staging URL and screenshots |
| Launch | Go-live readiness | Checklist and final URL |
What your terms say about changes after sign-off is your decision, and your adviser's. The sign-off page simply shows the client that wording at the moment they approve.
When the MD sees the build
Because the MD was named as an approver at kick-off, she saw and approved the designs herself. When she has a new idea at the build stage, the project manager opens the record: approved designs, approved by her, on a specific date. The conversation is about whether the new idea is worth a change request, not about who agreed to what. Often it goes on a list for phase two.
Are your sign-offs holding?
- Clients approve stages with a quick email reply.
- Senior people at the client see the work for the first time late in the project.
- Nobody can say which version of the design was approved.
- Changes to signed-off stages are done without extra charge.
- Projects regularly go back a stage during the build.