Plan a Brand-New Website from Discovery Through Launch and Iteration

A product manager is asked to take a website from nothing to its first live version. No site exists yet. Walk through how you would get from the initial idea to a launched site, and what you would do in the weeks after launch. ```hint Journeys before pages Before talking about technology or a list of pages, pin down the one or two things a visitor must be able to do on the first day and how you would know they managed it. Let those decide what the first release contains and how it gets built. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - What is the site for: selling something, informing or marketing, letting people complete a task such as booking or applying, or serving an internal team? Is it for a new venture or a first web presence for an existing business? - Who are the expected visitors, and how will they mostly arrive: on phones or desktops, from search engines, or through links shared with an existing audience? - What team, budget and deadline do I have: in-house designers and engineers, an agency, or no engineers at all, and is the launch tied to a fixed date? - Are there requirements set outside the product team, such as accessibility law, payment or privacy rules, brand guidelines, or integration with systems the business already runs? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - The site's purpose, its target visitors and a measurable goal for the first release, settled before any discussion of pages or tools. - A tightly scoped first version built around core visitor journeys, with a clear list of what waits for later. - A justified build choice (hosted site builder, content management system or custom code) based on the features needed, the team, cost and expected growth. - An end-to-end plan covering design, content, technical basics (domain, hosting, security, speed, search visibility), testing, launch and getting the first visitors. - Analytics working on launch day and a post-launch loop that turns what is measured into the next iteration. ### Follow-up Questions - Two weeks after launch, visitors are arriving but almost none complete the main action. How do you work out why? - Engineering estimates several months for a custom build, while a hosted builder could be live in weeks but cannot support a feature the business wants later. How do you decide? - How would your plan change if the site were an internal tool for a few hundred employees rather than a public website?