A beautiful website does not begin with choosing a colour. First, establish what decision visitors need to make and what prevents them from making it today. For VIP STUDIO MICHAEL & Di, we propose building the process around this question: not “which screen should we design?” but “which human and business problem will it solve?” The following practical preparation sequence should be agreed before a specific project begins.
Define one primary goal
“We need a modern website” expresses a wish, not an outcome. A more precise goal is helping potential clients compare services and request an estimate. Another might be presenting a collection and directing visitors to a consultant. There can be several secondary goals, but the primary one determines navigation, the opening screen and the main button. When a team disagrees about a section, ask how it helps someone reach the intended decision.
Describe the visitor’s situation
Instead of an abstract profile such as “men and women over twenty,” record the context. Is someone looking for a provider for the first time or already comparing two offers? Do they understand the differences between services? What materials will they bring to a consultation? What will they ask about payment, timing and support? These answers become page content. First-time visitors need explanations; ready buyers need specific terms and a short route to contact.
Collect facts, not just preferences
The project folder should contain an up-to-date service list, work approved for publication, logos, contact details, photographs with known provenance and approved legal copy. Mark any gaps separately. If pricing depends on scope, do not invent a universal rate: explain how estimates are calculated and what inputs are needed. Missing photography is a content production task, not a reason to present someone else’s work as your own.
Set the boundaries of the first release
Separate features required for launch from those that might follow later. An enquiry form may be essential immediately, while a complex client account area may only make sense after demand is tested. For each feature, record an owner, dependencies and a testable acceptance criterion. For example, an enquiry must reach the agreed address, include the selected service type and show confirmation to the visitor. That is considerably more useful than saying “the form must work well.”
Agree how work will be accepted
Before design begins, establish who makes decisions and how feedback will be collected. One consolidated list of comments reduces contradictory instructions. Decide what will be checked in the prototype, what belongs in the visual design review and what must be tested in the browser. Timelines and costs can be discussed meaningfully only once the scope, materials and external dependencies are clear. A brief does not prevent every change, but it makes changes visible.
A useful first-meeting summary need not be long: the website’s goal, main scenarios, content inventory, release boundaries and acceptance criteria. When both sides understand these points, the next stage begins with a shared foundation rather than assumptions.