Launching a website and an app: plan the communication too

Start with a use case you can explain

Choose the first use case a visitor needs to understand. Describe the person, their task and what the application enables them to do. This provides a starting point for the website, a demonstration and the first messages introducing the product.

Avoid building the page around features that are not available yet. If a capability is planned but has not shipped, make its status clear. The commercial message needs to match the experience the product can actually provide at launch.

Separate deliverables and their dependencies

A public website and an application serve different purposes. The website helps people understand the offer; the application helps them complete a task. Their design can be coordinated, while their acceptance criteria should reflect those different purposes.

List the screens, content and external services needed in the brief. Identify the access you will provide, integrations to build and criteria for accepting each deliverable. The same list helps distinguish launch requirements from work that can wait for a later version.

• Website: pages, copy, demonstration and contact point.
• Application: the first usable journey and acceptance criteria.
• Communication: messages, visuals and selected channels.
• Automation: triggers, access, notifications and error handling.

Test the whole journey before promoting it

Start with the link you intend to send a prospect. Check the landing page, its mobile layout and the next action. If that action leads to a registration or enquiry, also test the confirmation and what the team receives at the other end.

Measurement tools should answer specific questions: which page was visited, which action happened and which enquiries need a reply? Define the necessary data and applicable consent before adding tools. A click and an enquiry successfully received describe different stages.

Start with a piece of work you can deliver

The first assignment could cover the product presentation, one application journey or a defined automation. The proposal should identify the scope, materials supplied by the client, approval process and expected maintenance responsibilities.

A team that works across the website, product and communication can coordinate those requirements. To start the conversation, bring a demonstration of what already exists or describe the first use case. We can then agree a manageable assignment and clear delivery criteria.