Start with the audience and the job
Write down who the website serves and what those people are trying to do. A prospective patient, an existing client, and a referring professional may need different information. Choose the main actions the site should support, such as understanding services, finding approved contact details, or reaching an existing booking system.
- Name the primary audience and its most important questions.
- List the current website problems you can describe with specific examples.
Gather content the business can approve
Collect service descriptions, team information, contact details, locations where relevant, and images you have permission to use. Decide who will check accuracy and approve the wording. Mark missing information clearly so a designer can plan around it instead of filling the gaps with assumptions.
- Identify the person responsible for each content approval.
- Separate confirmed facts from draft ideas.
Define the inquiry or booking path
Decide whether a button should send a general inquiry, request an appointment, or open a system that confirms bookings. List the tools already in use and who receives each request. Keep general project and business inquiries free of patient details. Any process involving sensitive information needs a separate review of the destination, access, and handling requirements.
Clarify ownership and access
Find out who controls the domain name, hosting, website accounts, images, and business email. Record where those accounts live and who can approve changes. Discuss how the finished site will be handed over and how future edits will be handled. Share access through the relevant account controls rather than placing passwords in a project brief.
Plan the move from an existing website
Make an inventory of useful pages and existing links before removing or renaming them. Note what should stay, what needs rewriting, and what is no longer relevant. Include a plan to send old addresses to appropriate new pages, then check those routes after launch. Keep contact and booking destinations on the review list.
Make discovery and testing part of the brief
Describe the services and geographic audience honestly. A remote business can explain where it is based and whom it serves without implying that customers can visit an office. Plan clear page titles and navigation, then test the site on phones and with a keyboard. Review form labels, readable text, image descriptions, loading behavior, and error messages.
Agree on what launch means
Choose who will review the final content and test inquiries from submission through receipt. Confirm the destination for each link and request. Keep a short list of launch checks and follow-up questions. The result is a shared brief that helps you compare proposals and discuss scope without needing to settle every design decision first.
Questions before we begin.
Do we need a complete brief before contacting Practice Relay?
A few goals and examples of what you want improved are enough to start. Use this checklist to identify the decisions that still need discussion.
Is this a compliance checklist?
It is a website project planning guide. Legal, clinical, privacy, and compliance requirements need review by the people responsible for those areas in your business.