What should you decide before building a website?
Before choosing a layout, agree what the website has to achieve. That sounds obvious, but projects often reach design while the offer, audience or enquiry process is still unsettled. Here are the decisions worth making first.
Start with the business question
Before thinking about pages or design, get clear on the outcome you want the website to achieve. Are you looking to generate enquiries, showcase work, support existing customers or enter a new market? A focused business question helps you make better decisions about content and functionality.
Write your goal in one sentence and keep it visible during the project. It will help you prioritise, say no to extras and measure success after launch.
Define the primary audience
A website cannot be for everyone. Choose the primary audience you most want to reach and design the experience around their needs, context and language. What do they care about? What questions do they have? What would help them take the next step?
You can include secondary audiences, but keep the primary one in focus to avoid a diluted message or confusing navigation.
Map the essential journey
Identify the key journey you want visitors to take, from first impression to the next useful step. This might be learning about your services, exploring work or getting in touch.
Map the main steps, highlight the information needed at each stage and remove unnecessary friction. A simple journey is easier to review and test.
Choose what to prototype
You do not need to design every page upfront. Focus on key templates and interactions that will help test your approach: the homepage, a primary landing page and a representative content page.
A prototype can test structure, content and flows before production development. It does not prove demand, guarantee conversion or replace a working backend.
Prepare for handoff
A clear, documented prototype makes development easier to understand. Include notes on behaviour, responsive layouts, content needs and technical considerations.
Agree which decisions are approved, which remain open and which integrations are outside the scope. Align with your development team early so the next stage starts with realistic expectations.