The field guide / Read, use, keep
Before you change
the whole thing.
A tired-looking website, low enquiries or missing analytics do not establish a need for a rebuild. Separate the customer task, what you know and what the platform can do. This guide follows the rules in order; it has no weighted score.
Work down the checks.
Keep the move small.
No existing website
Start with a brief
Unclear or unknown website purpose
Define the job first
Clear job + confirmed platform limit
Plan a rebuild
Any essential check unknown
Gather evidence first
Platform supports the job + message or several pages need work
Refresh what works
One-page change, reproduced failure or blocked editing
Repair the specific friction
Known answers establish no change
Keep what works
Use the first matching direction. Repair a reproduced enquiry failure alongside it. A missing owner changes responsibility, not the technical direction.
Read the full decision rules and next actions
| What you know | Next direction | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No existing website | Start with a brief | Agree customer task, content owner and first-site scope. |
| Unclear or unknown website purpose | Define the job first | Name the customer task. Repair a known failure while defining it. |
| Clear job + confirmed platform limit | Plan a rebuild | Confirm the assessment; preserve useful routes/content and plan migration, rollback and handover. |
| Any essential check unknown | Gather evidence first | Check only what is missing. Repair a reproduced failure now. |
| Platform supports the job + message or several pages need work | Refresh what works | Keep the platform. Clarify the message/content/navigation. |
| One-page change, reproduced failure or blocked editing | Repair the specific friction | Fix and retest the bounded issue before expanding scope. |
| Known answers establish no change | Keep what works | Record the task and review when it or the evidence changes. |
A known enquiry failure gets an immediate repair alongside the primary direction. A missing owner changes responsibility; it does not turn a repair into a rebuild. Editing access is an operational question before it is a platform question. Account access does not prove intellectual-property rights.
Traffic without enquiries?
- Check the visitors. Traffic totals do not tell you whether people need the offer. Look at relevant customer tasks and arrival paths; unknown data stays unknown.
- Check understanding. Ask a relevant customer to explain the offer and next action. A preference about colour is different from evidence of confusion.
- Check the whole path. Manually test the page, form or contact method through to receipt. An enquiry is not a sale. Repair a reproducible failure and repeat the same test.
Worked examples
These businesses and scenarios are fictional, not client outcomes.
Aster Repairs / Repair
Clear job; a reproduced form failure; clear message; editing works; platform supports the task; one step needs changing; an internal owner is available. Keep the service pages, reproduce and repair the bounded failure, then repeat the enquiry test. First measure: a received test enquiry.
Rowan Studio / Refresh
The tested path works, but the offer needs clarification across several pages. The current platform supports the task. Keep it; agree clearer words, update priority pages, then observe a relevant reader explaining the next step.
Cedar Services / Rebuild
A clear essential task has a confirmed platform limitation and blocked editing. Confirm the technical assessment, map useful routes/content and migration/rollback/access, then verify on staging before switching. Ownership and rights are separate checks.
Northline Trades / Gather evidence
The purpose is clear, but the enquiry path, message, editing, platform and scope are unknown. Test the path, ask a relevant customer to explain the offer and check editing/task support. Unknown enquiries do not justify a replacement.
Elm Consulting / Keep
Known working path, clear message, usable editing and platform; no known change. Record the task, retain content/access responsibilities and set a review trigger. No paid project is established.
Mira Practice / Define the job
The job is unclear and a failure is reproduced; a platform limit is claimed but no owner is available. Name an owner, contain the failure and define the task before evaluating replacement.
Bay Workshop / Repair now, gather evidence
The enquiry failure is reproduced, but platform support is unknown. Repair the known failure now, check support and rerun the decision. Unknown does not negate the failure or force replacement.
A first website / Start with a brief
No existing site means there is nothing to rebuild. Agree the task, content owner and essential first-site scope.
An unanswered question / Recover
The guided version keeps other answers and identifies the missing question. “I don’t know” is valid. Edit and recompute before using a result.
A plan you can carry forward.
Keep what works. Name what needs changing. Decide how you will test it. Give the next action an owner and one observable measure before commissioning work.
A website brief should make pages, content, editing, account/source access, recurring costs, support and handover explicit. Ask a supplier how content can be exported, who tests migration and rollback, and what permissions are needed. No passwords belong in a brief.
A confirmed security incident or severe accessibility blocker needs qualified review beyond this questionnaire. The guide cannot certify compliance or replace incident response.
Methods behind the guide
Original Still Matter decision rules, informed by SCORE’s guided plan, NN/g prioritization methods and Atlassian’s goals, signals and measures. These methods do not validate the questionnaire or forecast results.
Version 1 / 12 October 2026. Explore message and brand strategy.