Most web design agencies start with design. We start with questions. This guide reveals the strategic planning process that separates a beautiful website from one that actually works - and why understanding your business needs to come long before choosing colors or platforms.
In our early years, a CEO of a technology company in the agricultural seed sector came to us. "We need a new website," he said. "Something modern, with nice animations."
It sounded simple enough. We started talking about design, about Webflow, about animations. But then we asked a simple question: "Who is this site for?"
The answer we got opened our eyes: "We're targeting three completely different audiences - farmers, investors, and large seed companies. Each has entirely different needs."
That was the moment we understood: beautiful design isn't the solution. It's just the result of a much deeper process.
Most people think building a website is: choose a template, fill in content, publish. But that's like building a house without knowing how many people need to live in it.
So what really needs to happen before you start designing?
Our first stage is always the same thing - conversation. Not about colors, not about pages, not about technology. About the business itself.
The questions we ask:
For example, when we worked with an infrastructure company, we discovered that their key question wasn't "how do we look professional?" but rather "how do we convince tender committees that we're big enough for stability but small enough for flexibility?"
That's a completely different question. And it changes the entire site.
After understanding the business, you need to understand who you're talking to. And here most agencies jump ahead too quickly.
We take time to map:
In a project we did for a biotech company, we discovered they had two completely different target audiences - doctors and hospital administrators. Each needs a different message, different pages, and even a different tone.
Only now - after understanding the business and the audience - can you start talking about what will actually be on the site.
This isn't "home, about, services, contact." This is:
For an investment firm we worked with, we understood that their visitors come with a lot of skepticism. All messaging needed to build trust gradually - from hard data, through case studies, to personal recommendations.
Only after the complete planning process - which usually takes us two weeks - do we start talking about design and technology.
And here we do choose Webflow, but for very specific reasons:
But Webflow is the tool, not the solution. The solution is what happened in the two weeks before.
Let's talk about real results:
Technology company in the AI field: Before planning, they thought they needed to talk about their technology. After our planning process, we understood together that their customers don't understand (and don't care about) the technology - they want to know how it saves them time and money.
We changed all the messaging. The result? They started getting more relevant inquiries, because the site speaks the language of the customers.
Infrastructure company: We discovered in the planning stage that their site needs to serve two separate purposes - recruit employees and win tenders. These are two completely different things that require a different approach.
Instead of one confused site, we built a clear user journey with different paths for each audience.
Not every agency does planning properly. And if you're looking for a partner in the process, here's what to look for:
Our projects start at 32,000 ₪, but it depends on complexity:
Important to understand - a proper investment in upfront planning saves a lot of money down the line. Because it's much cheaper to change a strategy document than to rebuild a site.
The most beautiful site in the world won't help if it's answering the wrong questions.
A proper planning process starts with a deep understanding of the business, continues with understanding the real target audience, and only then moves to design and development. The technology - Webflow in our case - is the tool that allows us to implement the strategy.
But the strategy? It always comes first.
Want to see how this process works for your business?
We invite you to a free initial consultation call. We'll ask questions, understand the business, and see if our process is right for you.
Website planning is understanding what needs to be on the site. Digital brand strategy is a broader process that includes understanding positioning, messaging, and overall marketing strategy. We do both, because one without the other isn't enough.
The planning phase itself typically takes us two weeks. This includes research, strategy meetings, and building the complete planning document. The entire project (including design and development) depends on complexity, but usually 8-12 weeks.
No. If you have another platform that fits your needs, we can work with it too. We choose Webflow because it gives us the greatest flexibility to implement the strategy, but technology is always secondary to strategy.
That's perfectly fine. The goal of the planning phase is exactly to understand if there's a fit and if the project makes sense. We have clients who after the planning phase decided to wait, or do something else - and that's a smarter decision than building the wrong thing.
Good question. If you know exactly what you want to change and why (for example: "we want to add a case studies page because clients are asking for it"), you might not need a full planning process. But if you feel that "something isn't working" and aren't sure what exactly - that's exactly where a planning process comes in.
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