Start with the job the website needs to do
A brochure site, an estate agency website and a customer portal solve different problems. Before choosing a platform, describe the visitor, their question and the action they should be able to complete. “Look more professional” becomes a clearer brief when it means helping a landlord compare services, understand the process and request a conversation.
List the pages needed for those journeys. A typical service business needs an explanation of each core service, relevant project evidence, practical answers, company information and a contact route. Each page should have a purpose of its own; adding pages with slightly different keywords rarely improves the buying experience.
Choose a platform around ownership and editing
| Approach | Useful when | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Managed website builder | Your team wants standard layouts and straightforward editing. | Export options, recurring fees and integration limits. |
| Content management system | You publish frequently and need structured editorial access. | Updates, plugin maintenance, backups and permissions. |
| Custom website or application | Your journeys, integrations or customer access need specific behaviour. | Documentation, editing tools, hosting and ongoing support. |
Custom development can still use a content management system. The important distinction is how much of the experience must be designed around your operation. A visually bespoke site does not automatically need a bespoke publishing backend.
Connect the first impression to the next step
Define what happens after an enquiry. Which fields are essential? Where is the record stored? Who owns the response? What happens if email delivery fails? A successful form should acknowledge only a confirmed submission and preserve the visitor’s details when a retry is needed.
Our Eastmans project illustrates a website built around a distinctive company story. Walthams shows the wider scope of a public website connected to staff, landlord and tenant experiences. These are different briefs, with different operational requirements.
Make search and accessibility part of the build
Use descriptive page titles, a clear main heading, readable navigation and ordinary links between related pages. Important content should be present in the page without requiring someone to click through an animation. During a redesign, map old addresses to the closest relevant new pages and test the redirects.
Check keyboard navigation, form labels, colour contrast and mobile layouts. Measure loading, responsiveness and layout stability using Google’s Core Web Vitals guidance. Field measurements from real visitors and a laboratory test answer different questions; an attractive desktop preview is not a performance assessment.
Scope cost, launch and maintenance together
A useful quote separates discovery, design, content, development, integrations and launch. Costs also depend on who supplies copy and imagery, how many page types are needed, whether old content is migrating and which systems need to connect. Ask what happens when the agreed scope changes.
- Confirm ownership of the domain, hosting, code and content.
- Test forms, confirmation messages and the actual receiving workflow.
- Check important pages on mobile and with a keyboard.
- Agree redirects, analytics, backups and a rollback plan.
- Name the person responsible for future updates.
If a website is becoming a working product, read our bespoke software guide. For focused buying questions, visit the website development FAQs.
Written for Orwell Lab’s practical guide collection. Examples and calculations are illustrative unless a project is specifically identified.
Discuss your own requirements ↗