← Back to the blogPlanning a website redesign? Gather these six things first.EdgeIt·Nov 4, 2026 · 3 min readThe first website meeting often starts with colors, fonts, and examples of sites everyone likes. Then someone asks which services need pages, where the current photos are, or who can approve the copy. The answers are scattered across inboxes. A little preparation gives your designer something concrete to work with. You can start with one shared folder and a short brief. Here are six things worth gathering before the layouts begin. 1. The business problem you want to solve Write down what prompted the redesign. Perhaps your services have changed, your best work is missing, or visitors keep asking questions the site should answer. “It feels dated” is a starting observation; describe what you want the new site to help people do. For a hypothetical consulting business, that might be: “Help operations managers understand our three services and request a conversation about the right one.” That sentence gives the team a useful way to judge a proposed page, photograph, or button. Choose a primary audience and a primary next step. Keep secondary goals in the brief, too, so they can be placed deliberately instead of competing for the first screen. 2. A page list and the links people already use Make a simple inventory of the current site. Record each page’s address, purpose, owner, and whether it should stay, change, merge, or go. Include articles, downloads, and landing pages linked from your social profiles, email signatures, or printed materials. If you have analytics or Search Console access, use them to identify pages that already receive visits or search traffic. A page that looks unremarkable can still be somebody’s route into your business. If addresses will change, ask for an old-to-new URL map and a redirect plan before launch. Google’s site-move guidance recommends mapping URLs and using permanent redirects to relevant replacement pages. Sending every old link to the homepage can leave people in the wrong place. 3. Clear service information and real customer questions For each service, gather a plain-language description, who it is for, what is included, and how a project starts. Flag anything that varies so the copy does not promise the same scope to every customer. Add the questions that come up before someone hires you. Your team’s recent sales conversations can be more useful here than a list of broad marketing slogans. Remove private client details before sharing notes. For example, a hypothetical event photographer might need to explain coverage hours, image delivery, and how a client can use the finished photographs. Those specifics help a designer decide what deserves space on the page. 4. Approved visuals and evidence you can explain Collect your current logo files, brand colors, approved photographs, and relevant work samples. Use a clearly labeled folder so nobody has to guess which version is current. For each example, add a sentence about what it shows and what your business actually contributed. Include testimonials only when you have permission to use them. If a result cannot be verified, leave the claim out. A clear explanation of real work is useful without an impressive-sounding number attached. Write down the purpose of important images as you gather them. W3C’s image guidance explains how text alternatives should reflect an image’s information or function. That context helps with accessible descriptions and with choosing a crop that still tells the right story. 5. Access and the connections the site relies on Identify who controls the domain, website account, analytics, and connected tools. Note any booking system, newsletter signup, payment flow, or inquiry form that must keep working. Share access through the service’s approved invitation process; keep passwords out of the project brief. For an inquiry form, name the person who receives the message and what should happen afterward. Include that handoff in the launch check. A successful on-screen confirmation is only one part of the journey; the team also needs to receive and respond to the inquiry. 6. One decision-maker and a realistic launch list Choose who gathers feedback and who approves the final work. Give copy, images, and reviews their own due dates. A launch date becomes easier to plan when those dependencies are visible. Separate what the site needs at launch from improvements you can make later. For example, accurate service pages and a working inquiry route may come first, with a larger resource library following when the material is ready. Keep feedback together and explain the reason for a requested change. “This description misses our main service” gives the team a clearer problem to solve than “Can we make it pop?” Quacker may still suggest a spotlight. Start with the missing pieces Open a document and use these six headings. Put what you already have under each one, then assign an owner to the gaps. That gives your first design conversation a practical agenda. EdgeiT helps businesses connect their website, message, and social presence. Explore our website design services or tell us what you want your next website to do.♡LikeCommentsSort Newest firstOldest firstPost
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