Website strategy
Website strategy decides what your website needs to say, how it should be structured and what each page needs to achieve before design or development begins.
It is for businesses that need their website to work harder: helping the right people find what they need, understand the offer and take the next step.
What the work covers
- 01
Structure and hierarchy
I look at what pages should exist, how they relate to one another and how people should move through the site.
The goal is a structure that works for customers, supports organic search and gives your team a clear framework for future content.
- 02
Content strategy
We decide what each important page needs to say and do. Some pages need to introduce the offer, some need to answer detailed questions, some need to build confidence and some need to help people make a decision.
This creates a clearer role for each page, reducing repetition and helping the website feel more useful from first visit to enquiry.
- 03
Customer journeys
I consider how people arrive on the website, what they need at different stages of their decision and where the current journey may be making things harder.
Often, the most useful improvement is not another button or another feature. It is a clearer answer, a better sequence of information or a more obvious next step.
- 04
Conversion and clarity
I review whether the website explains plainly what you do, who it is for and why someone should choose you.
This is where website strategy overlaps with user experience: making the site easier to understand and use, while ensuring the message supports the wider commercial goal.
- 05
Search foundations
Website decisions affect organic search. The site structure, content plan, navigation and page purpose all influence how well search engines can understand and surface the site.
Search is considered from the beginning, so the strategy supports visibility as well as the experience of people already arriving on the website.
When traffic is not the problem
Sometimes a website has healthy traffic but enquiries remain flat. People are finding the business, but the site is not giving them enough clarity or confidence to act.
The issue may be the structure, the content, the customer journey or the way the offer is presented. It may be difficult for people to find the page they need, understand how services fit together or see what should happen next.
Website Strategy is also useful when a business has outgrown its existing site. The services may have changed, the audience may be broader or more specific than before, and the website may have evolved gradually without an overall plan.
Before investing in design or development, it helps to decide what the site needs to do.
How it runs
A Website Strategy engagement usually takes three to six days of work over two to four weeks.
We begin with a working session to understand the business, website, audience and questions behind the project. I then review the current site, its available performance data and the wider search and competitor context.
You receive a recommended structure, clear priorities and page-by-page guidance that explains what each key page needs to achieve. The result is designed to be practical: something a designer, developer or in-house team can use to take the next stage forward.
We review the recommendations together, so the final plan reflects both the evidence and your knowledge of the business.
When the answer is not a website change
A website can only solve the problems it is well placed to solve.
If the offer itself is unclear, that may need attention before the website can communicate it well. If the people arriving are not the right audience, the priority may be SEO or another acquisition channel. If you already have a well-structured site and want to improve it through ongoing testing, Conversion Rate Optimisation may be the more suitable route.
If the site is moving to a new platform, domain or structure, Website Migrations will help protect its existing organic visibility. If the strategy is clear and the site now needs building, Website Design and Development is the next step.
Is this right for you?
Website Strategy is most useful before a rebuild, when a site has grown into something difficult to navigate, or when traffic has remained steady but enquiries have not.
It works well for businesses that want to make considered website decisions before committing to design and development. If you already have a designer or developer, that is useful: the final strategy gives them a clearer brief to work from.
Common questions
Do you design the website as well?
Is this the same as UX?
Talk through your website
If you think your website could be doing more for the business, tell me a little about what is happening.
I’ll read it personally and let you know whether Website Strategy is the right place to start.