How to run a website review round that actually closes

If you've ever felt a client review round was "basically done" three weeks ago and somehow it's still open, this post is for you. Most rounds drag on for two reasons. Both are fixable, and both have to be fixed at kickoff — not after the round has already gone sideways.

Reason one: the round has no closing condition.

Most agencies kick off a review with a vague target: "send us your thoughts whenever." That's not a round. That's a feature request inbox. A round closes when something specific has happened — every comment is resolved, every approver has signed off, the deliverable is ready to ship.

Set the closing condition before the round opens. Something like: "Round 1 closes when all comments are resolved AND the project lead has signed off." Both halves of that condition matter — the comments are the work, the sign-off is the lock.

Reason two: there's no deadline. So the work expands.

Parkinson's law. Work expands to fill the time available. If you say "send notes whenever" you'll get notes for the rest of your career. If you say "the round closes Friday at 5pm," you'll have notes by Thursday at 4.

Set the deadline at kickoff, in writing, on the canvas. "Round 1 closes Friday April 26 at 5pm. Anything that lands after that goes into Round 2." That last sentence is the one that matters. You're not blocking late feedback — you're queuing it.

The five-step round we run.

1. 1Kickoff call. Set the deadline. Set the closing condition. Identify approvers. Make sure everyone has the canvas link.
2. 2Open the round. Assign a round number. Set the deadline on the canvas. Send a reminder 48 hours before deadline.
3. 3Triage as comments come in. Don't wait for the deadline to start working. As your team resolves issues, mark them resolved on the canvas.
4. 4Close on time. Even if there are stragglers. Move open items to Round 2.
5. 5Run approval. Each approver gets a unique link. Sign-off is logged.

What to do when a client misses the deadline.

Don't extend the round. That trains your client to ignore deadlines on every future round. Move late feedback into Round 2 and explain it kindly: "We've moved your latest notes to the next revision round. They're captured and they'll be addressed there."

Round 2 starts the next billing cycle, has its own deadline, and is also a real round. Three Round 2's in a row is a scope conversation, not a workflow problem.