A readiness check for schools, nonprofits, and organisations planning a website rebuild in Perth or wider Western Australia
Most organisations don’t struggle with website projects because they chose the wrong supplier, they struggle because the project itself was never set up to succeed.
Almost everyone comes into a website rebuild wanting the same things:
- for it to look good
- for it to feel easier than the last one
- and to get through it without it becoming a three-month side job
After supporting over 200+ website projects across schools, not-for-profits, government teams, and professional organisations in Perth and beyond, a clear pattern shows up - the projects that feel calm, organised, and genuinely successful don’t start with perfect briefs or big internal teams, they start with a small number of clear conditions being in place before anything is designed.
This isn’t about being “more prepared” than everyone else, it’s about being clear in the right places.
What follows is the same website project readiness check we use internally to sense-check whether a project is likely to run smoothly. You don’t need to tick every box, you just need to know where you stand.
And if you'd like a resource, click the link to make a copy of our checklist template.
The Website Project Readiness Check
1. One person clearly owns the project
Not the website, the project.
This person doesn’t need to do everything. But they do need permission to:
- keep momentum
- make calls when needed
- move things forward without waiting for consensus every time
If ownership is shared, projects slow down. If ownership is unclear, projects stall. Most stuck website projects don’t fail because of design or development, they fail because no one is clearly holding the wheel.
2. Decision-making is understood upfront
This isn’t about hierarchy, it's about timing.
Before the project starts, you should know:
- who approves structure and pages
- who approves how it looks
- who approves wording
- whether any of those approvals go to leadership or a board
There’s nothing wrong with layered approvals, the problem is when no one plans for them.
Good website project planning doesn’t rush people, itworks around how organisations actually make decisions.
3. You can describe success in plain language
Not KPIs and not metrics.
Just this:
- What should the website make easier?
- What should it reflect that the current one doesn’t?
- What do you want to feel confident about once it’s live?
If you can describe success in two or three sentences, alignment comes much faster — whether you’re working with a web design agency in Perth or planning internally.
4. You know which pages really matter
Not everything.
Just the important stuff.
Ask yourselves:
- what pages must exist on day one?
- what can wait until later?
- what do people come to your site looking for first?
Most organisations don’t need more pages, they need the right pages (we can never stress this enough). Clarity here saves months of back-and-forth during website development.
5. Your content exists somewhere (even if it’s messy)
Most organisations already have their best content.
It usually lives in:
- staff knowledge
- old documents
- grant applications
- reports
- internal conversations
The question isn’t “is our content ready?”
It’s:
- do we know where it lives?
- do we know who understands it best?
That’s enough to begin.
6. Your timeline works backwards from reality
Not from optimism.
Think about:
- when the site actually needs to be live
- school terms, reporting cycles, and leave
- who needs time to review and approve things
If a website needs to launch by June, starting to plan in March is already late. Good timelines don’t rush people, they respect how organisations actually run.
7. Your team has some breathing room
Website projects don’t need full-time attention.
But they do need:
- a few focused hours most weeks
- space to review and respond
- permission to prioritise decisions when needed
If everyone is already at capacity, the project probably won’t fail, it will just drag and dragging is what makes website projects exhausting.
8. You understand how people currently find you
Not just analytics or SEO, but reality.
Ask:
- do people find you on Google and get what they expect?
- do you ever avoid sending people to the website?
- do you get the same questions over and over again?
A website isn’t just something people land on, it's something they use to decide whether to trust you.
9. You know why you’re doing this now
There’s always a trigger.
Common ones include:
- leadership change
- growth
- compliance or accessibility needs
- a rebrand finally catching up
- the site no longer reflecting the work you’re proud of
Naming the reason helps keep decisions grounded when opinions start multiplying.
10. The basics are already sorted (or owned)
Missing basics create the most stress — usually at the worst possible time.
Before starting, it helps to know:
- where brand files live
- whether photography exists or needs budgeting
- who can access domains and existing systems
- what absolutely must be accurate at launch
This is where website hidden costs often appear if it’s ignored. Clarity upfront keeps things easy during the project.
11. You’re aligned on “good enough”
Perfection slows projects down.
Ask honestly:
- what needs to be right at launch?
- what can improve over time?
- what doesn’t need to be solved immediately?
Projects move faster — and feel lighter — when teams are comfortable saying “not yet”.
12. The goal includes ease, not just appearance
This matters more than people admit.
Ask:
- do we want something we can update without stress?
- do we want fewer internal questions?
- do we want to stop worrying whether the site is “okay”?
If the goal is relief, the project needs to be set up that way from the start.
A quiet shift that changes everything
You don’t need to have all of this perfectly sorted before starting a website project, but when most of these pieces are roughly in place, something changes; conversations get easier, decisions land faster and the project starts to feel like progress.
If reading this helped you see your situation more clearly, that’s the point.
Want a printable version to use with your team?
If it’s helpful to talk this through together, you can download a simple, printable version of the Website Project Readiness Check.
It’s designed to be:
- shared internally
- marked up in a meeting
- used as a calm conversation starter
- saved for later reference
There’s no email gate and no catch.
👉 Download the Website Project Readiness Check
Use it however you need, and if it helps your team feel clearer than when you started, it’s doing its job.
Download the Website Project Readiness Check
