“We’re thinking about rebuilding our website” is something I hear a lot. And I always ask the same question back: “What’s not working about the current one?”
The answer is often something like “it feels a bit dated” or “I don’t really like it any more.” Which is fine — those are valid starting points. But they’re not enough to brief a project from, and starting a website rebuild without clearer answers usually leads to spending a lot of money and ending up with something that looks newer but has the same underlying problems.
Before you commission anything, answer these five questions. They’ll shape every decision that follows.
1. What is your website actually supposed to do?
This sounds obvious but most small business websites don’t have a clear answer to it. Generate enquiries? Sell products? Direct people to book appointments? Build credibility for people who’ve already heard of you through word of mouth?
The answer changes everything — the structure, the content, the calls to action, the pages you need. A website designed to generate cold enquiries from Google looks quite different to one designed to reassure warm referrals.
Write down the one thing you most want a visitor to do when they land on your site. That’s your north star for the whole project.
2. Who is it for?
Be specific. Not “small businesses” or “anyone who needs a solicitor.” Think about your best current client. What kind of company are they? What were they struggling with when they found you? How do they make decisions?
Websites that try to speak to everyone usually end up resonating with no one. The ones that convert well read as if they were written for one specific person — because in a sense, they were.
3. What does success look like — in numbers?
If your new website is working, what changes? More enquiry form submissions? More calls booked? A lower bounce rate? Sales above a certain level?
Having a measurable target before you build means you can actually evaluate whether the site is performing after it’s live. Without it, you’re guessing — and you’ll have no way to tell if the rebuild was worth it.
4. What content do you have, and what do you need to create?
This is the one that surprises people most. A website rebuild takes much longer than expected when the content isn’t ready. Copy, photos, case studies, testimonials — these all need to exist before a developer or designer can finalise a build.
Be honest about what you have. Good photography makes an enormous difference to how a site feels. If yours is out of date or non-existent, factor a photoshoot into your budget and timeline before you start.
5. Who else needs to be involved — and when?
Is there a business partner who needs to sign off? A team member who manages your social media and will use the site regularly? A PR or SEO person whose work needs to integrate with it?
Getting these people involved at the brief stage (rather than at the end when everything’s almost done) saves a painful amount of backtracking. Find out who has opinions, whose work the site affects, and whose sign-off you’ll need. Then get them in the room early.
What happens if you skip this?
The rebuild takes longer than it should. The brief evolves mid-project. Revisions multiply. You end up paying for work twice. The final site looks great in the demo but doesn’t quite feel right for reasons that are hard to articulate.
None of this is the developer’s fault. It’s the natural result of starting a build before the strategic thinking is done.
Do the thinking first. The build will be faster, cheaper, and far more likely to actually work.
If you’d like a sounding board before you start, book a call — I help clients get their brief right before anything goes near a developer.
