Website Design Requirements: A Checklist to Gather Before You Build
Why website design requirements matter
Most website projects that run over budget or drag past deadline do not fail in the build. They fail at the start, when nobody wrote down what the site actually needs to do. A clear set of website design requirements gives you and your client a shared definition of done, so feedback later is about polish rather than surprises.
Use the checklist below before you open your page builder. It works for any WordPress build, whether you use Bricks, Elementor or Gutenberg.
The website design requirements checklist
1. Goals and success metrics
What is the site for? More leads, more sales, more bookings? Write the primary goal and one or two measurable outcomes so design decisions have something to point at.
2. Audience
Who is the site for, and what do they need on their first visit? A one-line description of the main visitor keeps the design honest.
3. Sitemap and pages
List every page and how they link together. Agreeing the sitemap up front prevents the slow creep of extra pages mid-project.
4. Content and copy
Decide who writes the copy and when it is due. Missing content is the most common reason builds stall, so put dates against it.
5. Brand assets
Logos, colours, fonts, photography and any brand guidelines. Collect the source files now, not the week before launch.
6. Functionality
Forms, bookings, payments, memberships, search, multilingual. List each feature and the plugin or service that will power it.
7. Integrations
CRM, email marketing, analytics, payment gateways. Note the accounts and access you will need from the client.
8. SEO and performance
Target keywords, redirects from any old site, and a performance budget so the design does not end up slow.
9. Timeline and approvals
Map the milestones and, crucially, how feedback and sign-off will happen at each one. Decide the number of revision rounds before you start.
Turn requirements into a smooth feedback loop
Requirements set the target. The feedback stage is where projects still go sideways, when notes arrive over email and screenshots and nobody can tell which comment maps to which page. A tool like Reviso lets clients pin feedback directly on the live page with no login, so the review and approval you planned in step 9 actually runs cleanly.