Before a single line of code is written, a successful website redevelopment project starts with clear thinking, good planning, and asking the right questions.
Too often, businesses go out to tender with a vague brief, unclear goals, or assumptions that haven’t been tested internally. That can lead to inflated costs, proposals that miss the point, or projects that simply don’t deliver the value expected.
This checklist helps you get clarity before you engage suppliers. It covers everything from technical considerations to internal sign-off, helping you make confident decisions and get better results.
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1. Strategy & Objectives
• What are the key goals of this website project?
• Have you defined success metrics or KPIs beyond launch?
• Is this part of a wider digital transformation or business change?
• Are there different departments or stakeholders with competing needs?
2. User Experience & Accessibility
• Who are your core users, and what do they need from the site?
• Do you have any feedback, analytics, or survey data from your current site?
• Are you planning to run any user research or discovery workshops?
• Does the site need to meet WCAG accessibility standards?
3. Internal Capacity & Stakeholders
• Who will lead the project internally and sign off key decisions?
• Have you mapped out all the internal stakeholders who need to be involved?
• Do you have capacity for content population, approvals, and user acceptance testing?
• Will your IT or comms team need to be involved at any stage?
4. Technical Requirements
• Are you staying on your current platform or planning to replatform?
• Are there any systems (CRM, finance, LMS, booking, etc.) that need to integrate with the new site?
• Will the project involve migrating legacy content or databases?
• Are there known limitations or pain points in the current technical setup?
5. Security, Compliance & Procurement
• Does the project need to comply with any specific data security standards?
• Do you require Cyber Essentials Plus or ISO 27001 from suppliers?
• Will agencies need to sign an NDA before accessing your brief or data?
• Is this project going through a formal procurement framework or informal tender?
6. Workflow & Automation
• Are there manual processes within the business that could be moved online?
• Are you exploring any tools to reduce admin or support tasks?
• Are internal workflows or reporting tools part of the scope?
• Have you considered future scalability and system flexibility?
7. Project Management & Delivery
• What’s your ideal timeline, and are there any fixed deadlines?
• Do you require a phased delivery, soft launch, or MVP approach?
• How do you prefer to work with suppliers day to day?
• Do you expect regular updates, reporting, or sprint reviews?
8. Budget & Ongoing Support
• Do you have an indicative budget or range to share?
• Will you require post-launch support or a monthly SLA?
• Will you need staff training, documentation, or handover support?
• Are you happy with your current hosting or looking to change?
Next Steps
If you’re preparing to go out to tender, building a shortlist of agencies, or simply planning ahead, working through these questions will give you a clearer brief and better project outcomes.
If you’d like to talk it through before going to tender, we’re happy to have that conversation with no obligation.