Strategic plan icon

Process Guide

Step 1: Strategy

The strategy phase sets the direction for the entire project. It is structured in two parts. First, we gather insight and context from your team. Then, we synthesize that information into a clear, actionable plan that guides design, content, and development.

Part 1: LaunchPlan Session

The LaunchPlan session is focused on listening and discovery. We use it to gather the information we need to design and build a site that supports your goals and fits your organization’s realities.

The purpose of this meeting is to gather the insight, context, and constraints we need to build a strategic plan that fits how your organization works and makes the most of your budget. This is a working session, not a presentation. We come prepared with a framework and questions, and you bring the institutional knowledge.

While you don’t need to do any formal preparation for the session, it might be helpful to review a sample agenda so you can get an idea of the types of things we discuss.

  • What do we discuss at the LaunchPlan session?
    • We talk through your goals, vision, and what success looks like.
    • We review your target audiences and how they will use the website.
    • We discuss current pain points and how we can solve for them.
    • We work through the specific features and functionality of your site, and make sure we understand your current workflows and technical requirements.

    See a sample agenda for more details.

  • Who should attend the LaunchPlan session?

    This meeting is most productive when the right voices are in the room. We recommend including:

    • 2 to 5 core stakeholders who understand the organization, marketing and communications goals, and can speak to priorities.
    • At least one decision-maker or project owner who can validate direction.

    The goal is to keep the group focused and manageable. If there are stakeholders who only need to weigh in on specific topics, we can arrange separated targeted conversations.

    Not everyone needs to attend every future meeting, but having a strong cross-section here helps us avoid gaps in understanding.

  • Do we need to have everything figured out before this session?

    No, the LaunchPlan is for exploration and discovery. It helps clarify direction and priorities, and gives us the intel we need to do additional thinking and planning to arrive at our recommended solutions.

  • How do I prepare for the LaunchPlan session?

    The most helpful preparation is to have the right people in the session who can speak candidly about how your organization works today and where you want the website to help. If you have bandwidth ahead of the session, you can:

    • Review your current website and marketing process and note where pain points occur.
    • Align internally on the top goals for the project.
    • Identify any technical systems, integrations, or constraints the site must work within.
    • Ensure you’re aware of any non-negotiables or known challenges.
    • Talk with other team members and get their input if they won’t be in attendance at the session.

  • What if we realize something new after the session?

    That’s normal! Additional insights can be shared during the Strategic Plan Review or in a follow-up meeting, and the plan can be refined before approval.

  • What happens immediately after this session?

    We move into synthesizing what we’ve learned and building your Website Strategic Plan, which is presented in the next meeting.

Part 2: Strategic Plan Review

The Strategic Plan Review is where discovery turns into direction. About 2 weeks after your LaunchPlan secession, we schedule a Website Strategic Plan review meeting. We walk through a summary of your goals, audience user journeys, site map, navigation wireframe, design direction boards, and integration maps, providing our reasoning behind our recommendations.

You can ask questions and provide immediate feedback during the meeting, and we share access to the materials afterwards so you can review more closely at your own speed. You are able to leave comments and notes on the materials so we can continue to refine as needed.

Following the meeting, we also provide a technical statement of work and final quote to build the site as presented, with a detailed outline of the features and functionality of your project. We include quotes for any optional line items so you can determine how you want to proceed.

The goal of this phase is to arrive at shared understanding and alignment, and lock in the scope of work and pricing. By the end, everyone should be clear about the objectives we are pursuing, how the site will be structured, what the navigation experience will be like, and the overall look and feel of the site.

This is the best point in the process to address structural or directional changes. Once you approve the Website Strategic Plan, downstream changes are possible but may affect the timeline or final costs.

  • What are the components of the Website Strategic Plan? What deliverables do I receive?

    The Website Strategic Plan is the blueprint for your project. It documents the decisions that guide design, content, and development so the team is aligned before execution begins. You receive a set of clear, practical deliverables that are used directly throughout the rest of the project:

    • Audience User Journeys – The user journey map is an overview of each primary target audience and their roles/personas, common questions and motivations, key messaging, and calls to action.
    • Site Map – A site map diagram shows all pages included in the website and how they are organized. It establishes which elements are standard content pages and which elements are more structured (such as blogs posts, events or staff).
    • Navigation Wireframe – The navigation wireframe illustrates how all navigation elements and menus will be configured, focusing on hierarchy and wayfinding rather than visual design.
    • Integration Maps – If needed, integration maps document how the website will connect with third-party systems and tools. They clarify data flow, technical dependencies, and development considerations.
    • Design Direction Boards – We create approximately two design mockups that give you options for the general visual aesthetic and tone of the site. They give you a sense of the overall look and feel of the site.

  • Can we request changes to the site structure or design at this stage?

    Yes. This is the right moment to refine structure, navigation, and scope before design and development begin. We document feedback, make agreed-upon revisions, and circulate an updated version for approval.

  • What happens after the plan is approved?

    We move directly into the design phase using the approved strategic plan and technical statement of work as the foundation for all design and development decisions.

Landslide Responsibilities

  • Lead strategic conversations around goals, audiences, and technical needs.
  • Create a Website Strategic Plan that outlines structure, navigation, and design direction.
  • Present the plan and refine it based on your feedback.
  • Provide a detailed technical statement of work and pricing.

Client Responsibilities

  • Participate in strategy meetings.
  • Review the Website Strategic Plan and provide feedback and approval.
  • Review and approve the technical statement of work and pricing.

We’re Here to Help!

This guide is here as a reference, but real projects are dynamic. If you need clarification, have a concern, or want to talk through anything, get in touch!

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support@landslidecreative.com