Website design. Make it clear.

It is often the case when a customer 'knows' they need a new (or refurbished) website, but they do not yet have a clear (written) understanding of what is it they actually need. Therefore, here is the list of initial information / checklist you should prepare for web developers (preferrably - in writing) in order to kick-off a conversation.

• Explain a business need to web developers;
• Explain your goal and clear descriptions of project objectives;
• Provide a high-level 'Statement of Work' (a list of things to be done; details will be clarified later - on or after the first meeting)
• Tell developers about major modules (parts) that must be present on the website;
• Outline major deliverables and acceptance criteria (e.g.: website should look uniformly in different browsers, it must have feature A, B & C, the homepage should load in not more than 5 seconds etc.);
• Provide a list of milestones. E.g.: Phase 1 to be completed in 30 days etc.
• List your stakeholders (people and organisations that may be involved or influenced by results of your project);
• Tell developers about your visual preferences (e.g. I like site A, B & C, but I do not like X, Y & Z);
• Provide assumptions (e.g.: 'we assume that our new web server will be installed and ready in 3 weeks');
• Explain constraints (e.g. we need it in 6 weeks, and/or we have only X amount of money; and/or our server is Linux or Windows; and/or 'do not use red color - we hate it!')
• Inform web developers about potential risks (e.g.: 'our IT guy will be on holiday for 3 weeks shortly and won't be accessible' and/or 'Government is planning a new regulation that (if adopted) will require us to change way we publish data' etc.)
• And finally - be prepared to asnwer questions! Experienced web developers will ask you many questions that you may have not thought about.