Most website projects start in the wrong place: with screens. Someone opens a design tool, sketches a homepage hero and the conversation quickly turns to colours and fonts. It feels productive—but the most expensive problems in a website project are almost never visual. They are unclear goals, unknown audiences and content nobody has written yet.
Fixing those problems after the design is approved means redesigning, rewriting and rebuilding. Fixing them before the first screen costs a few focused conversations. Here is how we approach that groundwork at SOLIT.
Start with the outcome, not the homepage
A website is a tool with a job. Before discussing layouts, agree on what that job is and how you will know it is being done. A few simple questions get everyone aligned:
- What should a visitor do after reading each key page—call, book, buy, sign up?
- Which pages drive enquiries or sales today, and which ones nobody visits?
- How will we measure success three and twelve months after launch?
- What will change in the business that the site must support—new services, new markets, new team members?
Write the answers down in plain language. They become the brief every later decision is checked against.
Know exactly who you are designing for
“Everyone” is not an audience. List the two or three groups that matter most and, for each one, note the questions they ask, the objections they have and what they compare you against. A procurement manager and a founder may visit the same page looking for completely different proof.
This doesn’t require months of research. A handful of conversations with customers and your sales team usually reveals the patterns that should shape navigation, messaging and calls to action.
Content first, layout second
Placeholder text hides problems. A design that looks perfect with three neat lines of lorem ipsum can fall apart when the real service description needs eight. Draft real headlines, key messages and proof points early—even rough versions—and design around real words.
If you can’t explain a page in one sentence, no layout will save it.
A simple content inventory—every page, its purpose, its owner and its status—keeps the project honest and makes it obvious where the gaps are.
Map the structure before the style
Once goals, audiences and content are clear, the structure almost designs itself. Sketch a sitemap, then trace the main journeys through it: how does a first-time visitor from search reach an enquiry? How does a returning customer find support?
This is also the right moment for SEO planning. Map the search terms you want to be found for to specific pages, so each page has one clear purpose and internal links reinforce the structure instead of fighting it.
Agree on what “done” means
Finally, define the quality bar. Typical launch criteria include:
- Performance targets based on Core Web Vitals
- Accessibility standards the site must meet
- Conversion goals and the analytics needed to track them
- Who owns and updates each section of content after launch
When these are agreed up front, design reviews stop being about personal taste and start being about whether the work meets the brief.
What this looks like in practice
At SOLIT this groundwork happens in our Discover and Define phases: a short workshop, a review of your current site and analytics, a sitemap and wireframes built with real content. It usually takes a fraction of the project timeline—and it is the part that makes everything after it faster.
Key takeaways
- Agree on measurable goals before discussing design.
- Define your two or three most important audiences and what they need.
- Write real content early; design around real words.
- Plan structure and SEO together, page by page.
- Set clear launch criteria so reviews are objective.
