What does your website need to make clear?

A service business needs to explain who it helps, what it offers, and how to inquire. A product team may need to introduce a product, explain its use, and guide visitors toward a demo or sign-up.

I start with those decisions: what visitors need to understand, what evidence you can share, and what action belongs on each page. That gives the website a purpose before individual screens are designed.

A page structure built around your offer

I organize the pages and their content around the questions your visitors bring. This includes the relationship between your homepage, service or product pages, supporting information, and contact route.

The scope can include:

  • A page map with a defined purpose for each page.
  • Content layouts showing where explanations, images, and evidence belong.
  • Navigation and calls to action that connect related pages.
  • Responsive page designs for mobile and larger screens.

For a practical starting point, read the Small Business Website Checklist.

Before design begins, we agree which content you will supply and whether writing or editing needs to be scoped separately. If you already have brand guidelines or a design system, we establish how the website should use them.

Choose the starting point that fits your team

Design only

For teams with development covered. I work on the page structure and responsive interface designs. We define the files, interaction details, and handoff information your developer needs before work starts.

Design and development

For a website that needs both. I design the interface and build the agreed pages, including the contact routes and content management requirements included in the scope. Launch responsibilities and account access are agreed alongside the build.

Build from an existing design

For teams with designs ready for implementation. I review the supplied screens, responsive requirements, and interactions with you to establish what can be built and what still needs a design decision.

For custom interface work beyond a marketing website, explore design engineering for more complex interfaces.

Define what the website needs to do

A contact form, an external booking link, and an editable content section each have different requirements. We define how each feature should work, which service or account it depends on, and who will maintain it.

For a form, that includes the fields, destination, and confirmation and error states. For content management, it includes which parts you need to edit and who will use the system. The platform follows those requirements and the agreed implementation scope.

If visitors need accounts, staff scheduling, or a custom booking workflow, we should scope that as a software requirement. See product design for a booking system or business tool.

I use AI coding tools such as Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor where appropriate in development. The project scope defines what I build, what needs review, and what is handed over.

Agree the deliverables before the build

The project scope should make the path to delivery explicit:

  1. Purpose and pages: the audience, page list, content inputs, and main visitor actions.
  2. Design and implementation: the responsive layouts, interactions, working pages, and agreed integrations.
  3. Review and launch: the devices or browsers to check, form behavior, page titles and descriptions, canonical URLs, and intended indexing settings.
  4. Handoff: the design files and, where applicable, code, account access, publishing responsibilities, and any separately agreed support.

For design-only work, delivery ends at the agreed design handoff. For a build, we also establish who approves the content and who publishes the site. Ongoing changes and maintenance need their own scope.

Questions before we work together

Do you design and develop the website?

Yes. You can work with me on design only, design and development, or implementation of an existing design. We agree which pages and functionality are included before starting.

Can you improve an existing site?

Yes, subject to its current setup and the access available. Share the site and the problems you want to address so we can assess whether the work calls for targeted changes or a broader redesign.

Who provides the content?

We agree this before design begins. You will need to provide accurate business information and any existing materials you want to use. Copywriting, editing, and sourcing new imagery are included only if we explicitly scope them.

What does SEO setup include?

For an agreed website build, we define the page titles, meta descriptions, canonical URLs, and indexing checks to be covered. Ongoing content strategy, SEO work, and reporting need a separate scope. Setup does not guarantee rankings or traffic.

Who owns the domain and hosting accounts?

We agree account ownership, billing, and access before setup or migration. Existing accounts, new subscriptions, and the access needed for delivery should all be recorded in the scope.

What happens after launch?

We define the handoff and any post-launch support before the project starts. Maintenance, content updates, and additional features are included only where agreed.

How are cost and timing determined?

They depend on the page list, content readiness, functionality, development requirements, and handoff responsibilities. Share those details so I can scope the work and discuss a proposal with you.

To organize the details before you get in touch, read How to Write a Website Project Brief for Your Small Business.

Tell me what your website needs to do

Share what your business or product offers, your current website if you have one, and the pages or features you are considering. Let me know whether you need design, development, or both.