Start with what needs to change
Before collecting references, describe the problem with the current experience. Perhaps people cannot tell which service they need. The enquiry form might attract the wrong work, or the team may depend on a developer for every small update. Specific problems are easier to design around than a request to make everything more modern.
Write down the most important action a visitor should take. There may be several across the whole site, but a clear priority helps decide what belongs in the navigation and what the home page needs to explain.
Bring the questions customers already ask
Your inbox and sales conversations are useful research. What do people ask before they enquire? What do they misunderstand about the service? Which details help them decide whether you are a good fit?
Collect those questions in plain language. They can inform service pages, project descriptions and FAQs. This is usually more useful than filling the site with broad statements about quality and innovation.
Take stock of the material you have
Gather your logo files, brand guidance, service information and usable photography. Mark which items are approved, which need updating and which you have permission to publish. For project work, include the brief and the decisions behind it, not only the finished images.
It is fine to have gaps. The important part is identifying them early so writing, photography, illustration or other production can be planned rather than squeezed in before launch.
Map the practical requirements
List the jobs the website needs to perform: receiving enquiries, publishing projects, taking bookings, selling products or connecting to another system. Note who will maintain each part and how frequently the content changes.
Record where the domain, hosting and email accounts are managed. Do not put passwords in a brief or an enquiry form. Access can be arranged securely once the work and the people responsible are confirmed.
Agree how decisions will be made
Choose one person to gather feedback and confirm approvals. A helpful review explains the problem a change should solve, rather than passing on several conflicting layout instructions.
Share a realistic budget range and any fixed deadline, including the reason behind it. That gives the studio a chance to recommend a sensible first release. The written scope should then make the deliverables, exclusions, dependencies and review points clear to both sides.
Have a project in mind or a question about your current website?
Talk to KalkiWeb