On this page
Every agency has a project where the work took two days and the approval took two weeks. The design was fine. The client liked it. It just sat there, waiting for someone to say yes.
We've watched a lot of approvals happen – and a lot more not happen. Fast ones have a few things in common, and none of them involve better design. They're about how you ask.
Why approvals stall#
When we look at approvals that drag past a week, the cause is almost never that the client is unhappy with the work. It's usually one of three things.
- The ask is unclear. "Let us know what you think" invites thoughts, not a decision. Thoughts can wait. Decisions feel urgent.
- Too many reviewers. When five people are copied, each assumes someone else will reply first. Nobody does.
- There's no deadline. Without a date, the review goes to the bottom of a busy person's list and stays there.
None of these are the client's fault. They're how most review requests are written. The good news is that each one is easy to fix on your side.
Ask for one decision at a time#
A review request that covers the homepage, the about page, the colour palette and "any other thoughts" will get a reply about the colour palette in a week, and nothing about the homepage.
Split the request. If you need the homepage approved to start development, ask about the homepage alone. Say what you need from the client in one sentence at the top: "Can you approve the homepage layout by Thursday so we can start building on Monday?"
This feels slower – more requests, more emails. In practice it's much faster, because each request is small enough to answer in one sitting. A client can approve one page between meetings. They can't review a whole site between meetings.
It also makes the feedback better. When the client knows what they're deciding, they comment on that, instead of on whatever caught their eye first.
Name the approver before you send#
"Who on your side signs this off?" is the most useful question you can ask at kickoff. Ask it once, write down the answer, and address every review request to that person.
Everyone else can still comment. But one named person owns the decision, and they know it. The difference is surprisingly large: "Sarah, this one's yours to approve" gets a reply; "Hi all" gets a week of silence.
When the approver changes – people go on holiday, people leave – update it and tell the client. An approval request sent to someone who's out of office for two weeks is a two-week delay you could have avoided.
Make "approved" a button, not a sentence#
An approval written in an email is a sentence someone has to find later. "Looks great!" – is that an approval? Of which version? Was it before or after the change to the header?
A button is unambiguous. It records who approved, which version and when. Nobody has to search their inbox in three months to prove what was agreed, and nobody has to interpret enthusiasm.
It's also easier for the client. Clicking a button takes a second. Writing an email that sounds sufficiently decisive takes ten minutes, so it gets put off until there's time to write it properly.
If you're not using a tool with an approval button, you can get some of the benefit by asking for a specific reply: "Reply 'approved' and we'll start building." It's not as good as a record, but it's clearer than "let us know your thoughts".
What 312 agencies taught us about timing#
We looked at when review requests were sent across 312 agencies that joined Ferrybox in 2025, and how long each took to get approved. A few patterns stood out.
Requests sent on Tuesday morning were approved fastest. Monday mornings are full of catching up; Friday afternoons are full of leaving. Tuesday is when people have time to look at things.
Requests with a deadline in the first line were approved about twice as fast as those without one. The deadline didn't need to be tight – "by the end of next week" worked fine. It just needed to exist.
Reminders work, but only the first two. A reminder two days after the request helps. One after four days helps a bit. After the third, they mostly get ignored, and a short call does more than a fourth email.
None of this is surprising once you see it. But most agencies, including the ones we used to work at, send review requests when the work is finished – which is often Friday afternoon – with no deadline and to everyone on the project.
What to do when an approval still stalls#
Even with a clear ask, a named approver and a deadline, some approvals stall. People get ill, priorities shift, a launch moves. When that happens, resist the urge to send a longer, more detailed reminder. Longer reminders get read later, not sooner.
Instead, make the next step smaller. Offer a 15-minute call to go through the version together. Ask whether there's one thing blocking the decision. Or ask whether someone else can approve in the meantime. Any of these turns a stuck decision back into a small one.
And when an approval does take two weeks, look at why afterwards. Was the request too big? Did it go to the wrong person? Was there a reason the deadline didn't work? A short note on what happened is the best input you'll get for the next project with that client.
A short checklist#
Before you send the next review request, check:
- Does it ask for one decision?
- Is it addressed to the one person who makes that decision?
- Does the first line include a date?
- Is it going out at a time when the client can actually look at it?
Four small changes. Together, they're most of the difference between a two-day approval and a two-week one.
