‘We need a website because everyone has one’ is a weak investment brief. A better one identifies the decisions it should help people make and the work it should remove from your team.
A referral still needs somewhere to validate you. A buyer needs to examine your offer without arranging a meeting. A customer may need instructions outside office hours. A citizen may need to understand eligibility before beginning an application.
These jobs require different levels of investment. A specialist consultant may need a small, credible site. A retailer needs dependable product information and transactions. A public service needs accessible, secure task completion. Page count is a poor proxy for value.
Your website also provides a place to connect your marketing activity. Campaigns, events and sales conversations can lead to relevant information rather than repeatedly recreating it.
Write a simple website job description. Name the audience, their most important task, the evidence they need and the action you want to support. Then decide whether your existing site can do that work. The case for investment becomes easier to judge when the responsibilities are concrete.
