1. Define the commercial objective
State what should be different after the redesign: better-qualified enquiries, clearer positioning, faster purchases, easier recruitment, lower support demand or another measurable business outcome.
2. Describe the audience and their decision
List the primary user groups, what they need to know, what may stop them trusting the business and the action you need them to take.
3. Audit what already works
A redesign should not automatically discard useful rankings, content, brand equity or workflows. Identify what should be retained as carefully as what needs replacing.
4. Agree constraints early
Platform, integrations, governance, accessibility requirements, content ownership, deadlines and budget all shape the right solution. Hiding them until development creates avoidable compromise.