Plan a business website around customer tasks

A website brief becomes easier to judge when it describes what a visitor needs to do. A list of pages or visual references helps with delivery, but it does not establish whether the finished site will answer the customer's question.

Start with a small set of real tasks. Someone may need to check whether a service is available, find a price, understand where you operate or make an enquiry. Put these tasks in an order that reflects the business and the people using the site.

Write a task, not a feature

“Add a contact form” names a feature. “Let a prospective customer describe the job and reach the right person” explains the task. That distinction changes the questions you ask about the form: what details are needed, where the enquiry goes and how the sender knows it arrived.

For each important task, write down:

1. Who is visiting and what they already know.
2. The information they need before acting.
3. The action the business can support.
4. The confirmation or next step they should receive.
5. Who maintains the information afterwards.

Match the page to the decision

A service page should answer what is offered, who it suits and how to enquire. A local venue page may need opening hours, location and current prices. An account page needs information relevant to that customer and a route to help when access fails.

In our Turkish Barbers website project, the public scope covers services, pricing, a gallery, opening hours and contact. These are practical details for someone planning a visit. Queue and booking functions are a separate development question.

Test the journey on a phone

Ask someone who has not seen the design to complete one task. Let them start from the relevant landing page, without explaining the navigation. Observe where they hesitate, which information they look for and whether the next step is clear.

Repeat with a keyboard, and check that a failed form submission explains what needs correcting. A successful-looking button is not evidence that the enquiry reached its destination.

Give the content an owner

Decide who changes prices, service details, hours and images. An editing interface needs appropriate access, preview and a recovery route. Include those requirements in the brief when the business expects to maintain the site itself.

Our website design service explains how task, content and delivery requirements fit together. For search fundamentals, Google's SEO Starter Guide is a useful primary reference.