Website Project Planning Checklist

Use this checklist before you speak to any web agency. It will help you get accurate quotes, avoid scope surprises and launch on time. Work through each section with the people who will approve the website.

1. Goals and success measures

• Write the single most important goal of the website (e.g. enquiries, sales, admissions).
• List two or three secondary goals.
• Decide how you will measure success (calls, form submissions, orders).
• Identify who approves decisions and final content.

2. Audience

• Describe your main customer types in one sentence each.
• Note what each type needs to know before contacting you.
• Decide on languages (English, Hindi or both).
• Consider how most visitors will arrive: mobile, desktop, ads, search, WhatsApp links.

3. Pages and structure

• List every page you need (Home, About, Services, individual service pages, Contact, Blog, legal pages).
• Group pages into a simple menu of no more than seven top-level items.
• Identify pages from your current site that must keep their URLs or need redirects.
• Mark which pages share a layout (e.g. all service pages).

Example: a clinic might need Home, About the Doctor, Treatments (with one page per treatment), Appointments, Patient Information, Contact and Privacy Policy.

4. Content

• Decide who writes the text and set a deadline.
• Gather logos, brand colours and fonts.
• Collect real photos of your team, premises and work where possible.
• Prepare accurate contact details, addresses and timings.
• Remove any claims you cannot support with evidence.

5. Features

• Contact form, click-to-call and WhatsApp button.
• Booking, payments or online ordering, if needed.
• Blog or news section.
• Integration with CRM, email marketing or other tools.
• Search, filters or downloadable documents.

6. Technical setup

• Confirm who owns the domain name and its login.
• Decide on hosting and who manages it.
• Choose a platform: WordPress, Shopify or custom. Read WordPress vs custom development.
• Plan business email on your domain.
• Confirm SSL, backups and analytics requirements.

7. SEO foundations

• List the main services and locations you want to be found for.
• Plan one focused page per main service.
• Prepare unique titles and descriptions for key pages.
• Plan redirects for any URLs that will change.

8. Budget and timeline

• Set a realistic budget range, including first-year running costs.
• Set a target launch date and work backwards for content deadlines.
• Agree how many design revision rounds are included.
• Plan post-launch support and maintenance.

9. Before signing

• Compare quotes line by line, not just totals.
• Confirm ownership of code, design files and accounts.
• Ask for a written scope with deliverables.

Next steps

When this checklist is complete, you are ready for productive conversations with developers. Use the Business Website Launch Checklist when you approach go-live, or share your plan with WebBox for a detailed estimate.