A Beginner Guide to Web Design Project Management Software

This article is a beginner’s guide to web design project management software. That’s because effective collaboration between a team of web designers, user experience (UX) designers, web developers, and search engine optimization (SEO) strategists is crucial for completing any web design project.

Effective project management ensures a more optimized workflow, enhances collaboration, and completes projects on time and within budget. It steers away from poor project management, which causes delays and missed deadlines, which results in failed projects, unsatisfied clients, and costly losses.

What is web design project management?

Web design project management is the team’s approach to organizing and managing the project’s deadline, resources, and tasks. It ensures team members can see the project’s details and task requirements when needed.

Robust web design project management, usually using project management software and favoring a methodology, breaks down team members’ requirements into specific tasks that are tackled collaboratively.

Choosing the correct project management methodology depends on your budget, team size, flexibility, timeline, and the amount of client collaboration. Here are some of the project management methodologies that web design teams can use:

• Agile methodology doesn’t focus on completing the web design project. Instead, it breaks down each part of the project into smaller tasks, called cycles or sprints.
• Kanban sees projects planned on a Kanban board, where tasks are separated into labeled columns and moved to the next column once completed.
• Waterfall lays out all of a project’s tasks in a linear sequence, so each task must be completed before the next one begins.
• Scrum requires a leader (or Scrum Master) to manage the project and organize tasks into sprints (similar to the Agile methodology) lasting no more than two weeks each.

3 Benefits of web design project management software

More web design teams are turning to project management software to help them optimize their workflows and ensure collaborative working. Here are some of the reasons why:

Improved time management 

Monitor task completion and important milestones throughout each stage of the project, as poor time management can cause teams to miss deadlines.

Luckily, project management software can help web design teams meet their deadlines by allowing them to monitor project progress using task lists, calendar views, and Gantt charts.

Paymo is used by many creatives to manage their time during the project process. With the ability to link timestamps to tasks and lay all work out in a clear timesheet format, Paymo gives you room for deep creative work.

Improved organization

Organization is the key to ensuring that a web design project stays on track and that important milestones are met. This means employees need to be able to see all files, tasks, and deadlines.

Luckily, project management software offers a high-level overview, so all team members can see the original web design proposal, what tasks must be completed, who is responsible for each, and when it is due.

Improved communication and collaboration

Transparent communication is essential throughout any web design project. It improves collaboration, prevents misunderstandings, and creates a more positive work environment.

Luckily, project management software is a central place where all team members can see tasks, know what is expected, track the project status, leave comments, and upload files. This can avoid any miscommunication regarding what needs to be done and when.

In addition, some project management software has chat features, which are excellent for distributed teams.

4 Examples of web design project management software

There is a range of project management software available for web design teams. However, your choice will depend on your chosen project management methodology. Here are three of the most popular web design project management software:

Paymo

Paymo is a project management tool designed to map out multiple workflows and schedule your team according to their availability.

Here are the advantages of Paymo:

• It creates project overviews. When working on multiple different projects, the comprehensive dashboard displays convenient updates on each one. This can also be used to pull reports.
• Design threads are tracked. Comments can be easily added to the designs, and any changes can be followed with versioning.
• It can be used among global teams. Paymo is available in 22 different languages.
• Your clients can join the platform. External people can be added as guests to collaborate on projects. This allows them to monitor progress and make comments.

Here are the disadvantages of Paymo:

• Limited personalization options. The Paymo platform has been designed to streamline project management, which is not always preferred by those with set ways of working.
• Integration limitations. Although Paymo has a selection of compatible software with which it can be integrated, integration may not be possible with existing business platforms.

Trello

Trello is simple and lightweight project management software. Its single screen displays all your tasks and their statuses in one view.

Here are the advantages of Trello:

• Trello is simple to use. Trello is the perfect software for beginners.
• It has an intuitive layout. Trello’s Kanban layout allows you to place ‘cards’ in as many columns as you want, each designating a different stage of your project. You can attach files, add notes, add deadlines, and change the status of each card.
• It updates in real time. Project updates are reflected across the system in real time, eliminating delays and ensuring seamless collaboration.
• It can be free. Trello has a free plan that allows up to 10 collaborators per workspace. Larger teams can opt for the standard, enterprise, or premium plan, which ranges from $5 to $17.50 per month.

Here are the disadvantages of Trello:

• Trello lacks role separation. With Trello’s free version, you can not assign a project specifically to one person without them being able to see other projects on the board.
• It is not great for complex projects due to its lack of features. Trello lacks essential features such as time tracking, Gantt charts, and management reporting.
• It doesn’t work offline. Trello’s functionality takes a hit when offline, meaning users need access to the internet.
• It lacks customization. Trello lacks customization options, which restricts its adaptability to specific workflows.

Podio

Podio lets you use one tool to align all web design content, conversations, and processes.

Here are the advantages of Podio:

• Podio is highly customizable. Podio is a blank slate, so you can create whatever project management board you like—as long as you can build it.
• It allows app integrations. Users can use third-party apps such as customer relationship management (CRM) software or time tracking without switching platforms.
• It offers automated sequences. You can create automated sequences, which saves a lot of time. For example, when a task enters the ‘In Design’ stage, Podio will automatically be assigned to a team member with a deadline.

Here are the disadvantages of Podio:

• Podio is not ready out of the box. Podio may take beginners some time to configure as you need to set up your boards and test layouts.
• It lacks customer support. Podio’s limited support resources and in-app guidance make it challenging for project management beginners.

Asana

Asana is similar to Trello, with a Kanban layout but a bit more full-featured. It has a great calendar app, a section for conversations, a progress section, a files app, and a timeline so you can stay on your deadline.

Here are the advantages of Asana:

• Asana has many helpful features. As mentioned above, it has a calendar app for monitoring project progress and task deadlines, a file app for storing project files, a timeline to ensure no missed deadlines, and an internal messaging tool.
• It allows third-party integrations. Asana is easy to integrate with other apps you might use throughout the project, such as Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, and Slack.
• It is focused on effective collaboration. Asana alerts collaborators when tasks are changed, displays personal tasks to other team members, and allows for comments on tasks.

Here are the disadvantages of Asana:

• Asana limits task assignments. Only one user can be assigned to a task at any given time.
• It may take some time to get used to. For project management beginners, Asana can be challenging to master.
• It lacks some essential features. Despite having more features than Trello, Asana still lacks time-tracking capabilities and reporting tools.

Wrapping Up

For web design project management beginners, the right software and methodology will be the key to helping you optimise your workflow and complete projects efficiently.

Web design project management software will ensure your projects get completed thanks to collaborative benefits such as storing all files and tasks in one place. Just remember to spend time configuring your project management software and training your team.