What should businesses evaluate before starting a website design project?

Before starting a website design project, businesses should audit current site performance using tools like Google Analytics 4, Hotjar, and Semrush to establish baseline data on traffic, conversions, bounce rates, and top exit pages. This ensures design decisions are grounded in evidence rather than assumption.

Key evaluation areas include: current brand guidelines and whether they need updating, clarity of target audience personas, the CMS platform in use (WordPress, Webflow, or custom), existing content assets and gaps, SEO equity in current URLs, and internal stakeholder alignment on goals. Skipping this discovery phase is one of the most expensive mistakes a business can make before a redesign.