How to Plan a Website That Drives Results for Your Clients

Planning a website is like building a house – without a solid blueprint, you risk ending up with a chaotic structure that doesn’t serve its purpose. For marketing agencies managing client website projects, a systematic planning process can be really helpful.

At White Label Agency, we’ve helped hundreds of marketing agencies with the technical execution of their website plans. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through every step of the best practices of planning a website that achieves business goals.

Why Website Planning Matters

Before diving into the “how,” let’s understand the “why.” Proper website planning saves time and money by preventing costly revisions later. When you plan thoroughly from the start, you ensure alignment between business goals and website functionality, creating a better user experience by designing with purpose.

Planning also establishes clear expectations between agencies and clients. This clarity provides a roadmap for development teams to follow, reducing confusion and preventing scope creep. In our 12+ years working with marketing agencies, we’ve seen how it improves project outcomes when the agency knows how to plan a website for their end-client. 

The 5-Stage Website Planning Process

Effective website planning doesn’t happen by accident. Let’s explore a proven five-stage process that will transform how you approach website design projects.

Stage 1: Strategic Discovery

Every effective website begins with understanding the fundamentals. This discovery phase lays the groundwork for all decisions that follow.

Business Goals Analysis

Start by asking your client: “What specific business outcomes should this website achieve?” Common goals include:

• Generating leads for sales teams
• Selling products directly through e-commerce
• Building brand awareness among target audiences
• Providing customer support to reduce service costs
• Sharing information about services or causes

A real estate client might prioritize lead generation above all else, while an educational institution might focus on information sharing. These goals shape everything that follows.

When working with a financial services client recently, we uncovered that their primary goal wasn’t just lead generation (their initial request) but establishing credibility with a specific type of high-value prospect. This insight completely shifted the content strategy and design approach.

Target Audience Research

Understanding who will use the website guides design and content decisions. Don’t skip this crucial step! Develop detailed profiles that include:

1. Demographics: age, location, income, education levels 
2. Psychographics: interests, values, pain points, motivations 
3. Technical considerations: device usage patterns, internet speed, accessibility needs 
4. Existing customer insights: feedback, support tickets, sales conversations

For example, when we helped an agency plan a website for a luxury home builder, understanding their affluent, mobile-first audience led to a completely different approach than another project targeting budget-conscious seniors primarily using desktop computers.

Try creating 2-3 user personas that represent your primary audience segments. Give them names, backgrounds, and specific goals for visiting the website. This makes it easier to evaluate decisions throughout the planning process by asking, “Would Sarah find this helpful?” or “Does this address Tom’s main concern?”

Competitive Analysis

Analyze 3-5 competitor websites to identify patterns and opportunities. This isn’t about copying others, but understanding the landscape in which your client’s website will exist.

Look for:

• Design trends in the industry
• Content strategies that seem effective
• Functionality that users might expect
• Opportunities to differentiate

Create a simple comparison table with strengths and weaknesses to share with your client:

Competitor	Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities
Example Co	Clean design, clear CTAs	Slow loading time, weak mobile experience	Emphasize our speed and mobile design
Sample Inc	Detailed product info	Confusing navigation, hard to contact	Create simpler structure with prominent contact options
Test Corp	Strong visuals, modern feel	Little industry expertise evident	Highlight our team’s expertise and credentials

This approach helps clients understand strategic decisions based on market realities rather than subjective preferences. It also positions you as a strategic partner rather than just a website builder.

Stage 2: Information Architecture Planning

With strategic foundations in place, it’s time to move to discussing how to plan a website structure. This is where you map out how information will be organized and accessed.

Sitemap Development

Create a visual representation of all pages and their hierarchical relationships. This serves as the skeleton of your website:

1. Start with main navigation categories
2. Add subpages under each category
3. Include utility pages (contact, about, privacy policy, etc.)
4. Note special templates or custom post types needed

A clear sitemap prevents the common problem of realizing halfway through development that important sections were overlooked. It also helps content creators understand what they need to produce.

User Journey Mapping

For each key audience segment, map out their likely path through the website:

1. Entry point (search, social media, direct traffic)
2. Information they seek first
3. Secondary information needs
4. Decision/conversion points
5. Follow-up or return visit scenarios

For example, a B2B software client’s user journey might start with a problem-focused landing page, move to solution details, then case studies, before reaching a demo request form.

Drawing out these journeys helps identify which pages deserve the most attention and where potential roadblocks might occur. It’s also valuable for planning calls-to-action and internal linking strategies.

Navigation Planning

Based on user journeys and business priorities, determine:

• Primary navigation items (typically 5-7 maximum)
• Secondary navigation needs
• Mobile navigation approach
• Footer navigation content

Remember that navigation isn’t just about organizing content—it’s a strategic tool to guide users toward business goals. Prioritize items that drive conversions and support key user tasks.

Too many options can overwhelm visitors, so be selective about what earns a spot in your main navigation. A healthcare client initially wanted 12 items in their main menu, but after reviewing user journeys, we helped them consolidate to 5 categories that covered all services while making the most important ones immediately visible.

Stage 3: Content Strategy Planning

Content is the heart of most websites. Planning it thoroughly prevents delays and disappointments that plague many website projects.

Content Inventory and Audit

For existing websites, catalog all current content and assess:

• What’s performing well (traffic, conversions, engagement)
• What needs updating to remain relevant
• What can be removed or consolidated
• What needs to be created from scratch

For new websites, identify content gaps by comparing competitor sites and audience needs against current assets. This helps establish the scope of content creation needed.

One agency we work with uses a simple red/yellow/green system to categorize existing content: red for “remove or replace,” yellow for “update,” and green for “keep as is.” This visual system makes content planning discussions with clients much more productive.

Content Requirements Planning

Create a detailed list of required content, including:

• Page titles and purposes: What each page should accomplish 
• Word count estimates: How comprehensive each page should be 
• Image requirements: Number and types of visuals needed 
• Video or interactive elements: Any non-text content to plan for 
• CTAs and conversion elements: How each page connects to business goals

Assign responsibility for each content item with clear deadlines. This helps prevent the all-too-common problem of website projects stalling due to missing content.

Consider creating content templates for recurring page types (like service pages or team member profiles) to ensure consistency and make creation more efficient.

SEO Foundation Planning

While detailed keyword research comes later, establish SEO foundations now:

• Primary and secondary keywords for major sections
• Content topics that address search intent
• Technical SEO requirements (schema markup, etc.)
• Internal linking strategy

One agency partner we work with creates a simple “SEO brief” for each main page, ensuring everyone understands the purpose and target keywords before content creation begins. This alignment prevents rewrites later when trying to optimize already-created content.

Stage 4: Technical Planning

With structure and content planned, define technical requirements to bring the website to life.

Functionality Requirements

List all interactive elements and special functionality:

• Forms and data collection needs
• E-commerce features and payment processing
• Member areas or login systems
• Integrations with other systems (CRM, email, etc.)
• Search functionality requirements
• Interactive elements (calculators, configurators, etc.)

Be specific about how each should work. “Contact form” is vague; “Multi-step contact form with conditional fields based on service selection and CRM integration” gives developers clear direction.

For complex functionality, consider creating user stories: “As a [type of user], I want to [action] so that [benefit].” This format ensures you capture both the technical need and its business purpose.

Technology Stack Decisions

Choose the right tools for the job:

• CMS platform (WordPress, etc.)
• Hosting requirements and environment
• Plugin needs and third-party tools
• Development approach (custom vs. theme-based)
• Analytics and tracking implementation

As a WordPress-focused agency, we’ve helped partners evaluate when custom development makes sense versus using existing themes or page builders based on project requirements and budget.

These decisions impact everything from development time to ongoing maintenance requirements, so make them thoughtfully based on the project’s specific needs rather than defaulting to the same approach for every website.

Performance and Security Planning

Establish requirements for:

• Page load speed targets and optimization approach
• Mobile responsiveness specifications
• Security needs (SSL, form protection, user data)
• Backup and recovery processes
• Compliance requirements (GDPR, ADA, CCPA, etc.)

Document these in a technical requirements brief that can guide development decisions and help set client expectations. Being clear about these requirements up front prevents unpleasant surprises during development or after launch.

Stage 5: Project Workflow Planning

Finally, plan how the project will unfold to ensure smooth execution.

Timeline Development

Create a realistic timeline with key milestones:

1. Discovery and planning approval
2. Design concepts presentation
3. Content development period
4. Design refinement and approval
5. Development and building phase
6. Testing and quality assurance
7. Launch preparation and client training
8. Go-live date and announcement
9. Post-launch support period

Include buffer time for client feedback and revisions—they always take longer than expected. Be especially generous with content development timelines, as this is where most projects experience delays.

A visual timeline helps clients understand the project flow and their responsibilities. Consider creating a shared calendar with key dates and deadlines for all stakeholders.

Team and Resource Allocation

Determine who handles each aspect:

• Project management and client communication
• UX/UI design and visual elements
• Content creation and optimization
• Development and technical implementation
• QA testing and quality control
• Launch support and training

This is where agencies often consider whether to handle everything in-house or partner with specialists. Many of our agency partners focus on strategy, design, and client management while we handle WordPress development and ongoing maintenance.

Clear role definition prevents confusion and ensures all aspects of the project have appropriate resources allocated.

Client Collaboration Process

Establish how you’ll work with clients throughout the project:

• Communication tools and frequency expectations
• Review and approval processes with clear deadlines
• Asset collection methods and formats
• Testing participation and feedback mechanisms

Clear processes prevent scope creep and ensure clients feel involved without micromanaging the project. Document these in a client onboarding packet so expectations are set from the beginning.

Practical Website Planning Tools

To implement this process effectively, consider these tools:

Discovery Phase Tools

Client questionnaires tailored to different industries help gather consistent information for each project. User persona templates structure your audience research findings, while competitive analysis frameworks ensure thorough market evaluation.

Architecture and Content Tools

Sitemapping software like Gloomaps visualizes website structure. Content inventory spreadsheets track all needed materials, and SEO research tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush inform keyword planning.

Visual Planning Tools

Wireframing tools such as Figma help visualize layouts before detailed design. Mood boards collect inspiration and can be helpful for website design planning, while annotation tools facilitate specific feedback on visual elements.

Project Management Tools

Timeline software with Gantt charts shows project flow. Task management systems like Asana or Trello track responsibilities, and client approval platforms streamline feedback collection.

How White Label Agency Can Help with Executing Your Website Plans

While your agency focuses on strategy, design, and client relationships, we can handle the technical implementation of your carefully planned websites. Our dedicated WordPress developers and designers turn your plans into reality, with:

• Clear communication through dedicated account managers
• Flexible team scaling based on your project needs
• White label partnership that keeps your agency brand front and center
• Comprehensive WordPress expertise across all technical requirements

We’ve delivered over 3,000 WordPress projects for 600+ marketing agencies, functioning as their invisible technical partner while they maintain client relationships.

Conclusion: How to Plan a Website

Thorough website planning might seem time-consuming, but it ultimately saves time, reduces stress, and produces better results. By following this structured approach, your agency can:

• Set clearer expectations with clients from the start
• Deliver projects on time and on budget consistently
• Create websites that actually achieve business goals
• Build stronger client relationships through successful outcomes

Need help with executing your website plans? Contact us today to discuss how we can support your agency’s website projects with dedicated WordPress development services.