The playbook
Website Planning: Practical Guide
Start with one bounded use of website planning: one page or interaction record, one responsible owner, and a defined next action. Define what a website must help visitors do before design or development begins. A narrow first pass makes it easier to see whether the method works before applying it more widely.
Put the task in context
For a home-services site, define whether the primary action is an emergency call, a scheduled visit, or an estimate request. Each implies different information and routing. Decide which action applies to each service before choosing the page layout.
Define the result before starting
Write down the intended result in practical terms: define what a website must help visitors do before design or development begins. The work should produce a usable page or interaction record with enough information for the next decision. Use audience as the starting point and capture task, page, function, owner as the work progresses. Choose a scope small enough that the owner can verify it directly.
A three-step implementation process
1. List the primary audiences and their decisions
Begin with the current state. Gather the information required for this decision and record where it came from. For website planning, audience and task should refer to the same item in scope. When they disagree, resolve the mismatch before building on it.
2. Map each decision to content and functionality
Turn the first decision into a concrete working change. Agree on launch scope and acceptance criteria. Keep the reason beside the change so a reviewer can distinguish an intentional choice from an accidental difference. Check the result using a representative real item.
3. Agree on launch scope and acceptance criteria
Verify that someone else can use the output without guessing. Record the next owner and the remaining uncertainty. Compare the finished state with the original task, and retain the evidence needed to revisit the decision when circumstances change.
Avoid the failure that changes the outcome
Starting visual design before the business goal is clear. Write a short brief with one primary visitor outcome. Correct the cause before adding more activity. Otherwise the same problem will be repeated across a larger set of pages, records, or campaigns.
Keep a compact working record
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| audience | The current audience for the item being worked on; include the source when it could be disputed. |
| task | The current task for the item being worked on; include the source when it could be disputed. |
| page | The current page for the item being worked on; include the source when it could be disputed. |
| function | The current function for the item being worked on; include the source when it could be disputed. |
| owner | The current owner for the item being worked on; include the source when it could be disputed. |
Review the outcome
Use priority visitor tasks supported as the outcome to define, then record a baseline and a comparable follow-up observation. Do not assume that finishing the task proves an improvement. Look at whether the intended user or receiving team can now complete the next step with less uncertainty.
Verify the actual visitor journey on a narrow screen and with a keyboard. A design can look complete while hiding an unreachable control or a missing confirmation. Record the task attempted and what happened at the end.
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