What is a milestone?
A milestone is a self-contained development stage that represents a specific portion of the project - both in functionality and in time. It’s a way to divide the project into logical, manageable parts, each of which has its own scope, timeline, and review cycle.
Milestones help keep the project organized, allow for partial testing, and provide clear checkpoints for feedback and approval.
Rather than waiting until the entire project is done, you get to see results early, provide input, and confirm that each part is working as expected before we move forward.
Why we use milestones
- They allow you to test functionality in smaller chunks
- Each part of the system becomes incrementally usable
- Problems can be identified and resolved early
- Payments are linked to visible progress
- Feedback can be addressed before the next stage begins
This model is more flexible and more transparent than all-at-once delivery.
Example of milestone structure
Here’s a sample breakdown of a project using a typical milestone structure:
- Milestone 1: CMS Setup + Homepage
Setup of WordPress or Laravel framework, homepage layout, general structure, and base styling. - Milestone 2: Product Import + Admin Panel
Product data migration or sync, admin interface, and custom settings or filtering features. - Milestone 3: Custom Feature Integration
Development of interactive components, APIs, calculators, or logic-based forms. - Milestone 4: Multilingual Support + Final Styling
Integration of language switcher, translations, UI polish, responsive layout fixes. - Milestone 5: Final Testing + Delivery Preparation
QA checks, final fixes, deployment readiness, and backup setup for migration.
Each project has a unique milestone breakdown, depending on its complexity and scope, but the structure always follows this logic: build → test → improve → move forward.
What each milestone includes
Every milestone we define comes with:
- A clear scope: what we will deliver in that stage
- A budget: how much it costs (aligned with the total fixed budget)
- A delivery timeline: when you can expect it to be ready
- A quota of post-delivery revisions: a support window to apply small fixes or updates
Once a milestone is complete and approved, we move on to the next.
In summary
- Milestones are structured phases of the project with their own goals and deliverables
- This method allows for incremental progress, testing, and feedback
- You always know what’s coming next, how much it costs, and what’s included
- Each milestone stands on its own and builds toward the final product