Stage guide
| Stage | Website scope | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-PMF | Optional homepage | Positioning first. No full system. |
| Seed (post-PMF) | Homepage sprint | Fix conversion on warm traffic. Prove narrative. |
| Series A | Homepage + templates | Expand after homepage wins. Add modular sections. |
| Series B | Full system + Claude | Page velocity without retainers. $10k-$20k band. |
Signals you should redesign now
These are operational triggers, not vanity triggers. If three or more apply, stop debating and scope a sprint.
- Paid or outbound traffic lands on a homepage that fails the stranger test
- Sales says the site does not match what they hear on calls
- Marketing needs comparison, feature, or use-case pages monthly
- Rebrand or category shift made current copy obsolete
- Design system does not exist; every page is a one-off in Figma
- Post-PMF with one dominant ICP and a real launch calendar
Signals you should wait
Waiting is a strategy when the bottleneck is not the website.
- Positioning still changes every board meeting
- No named proof or customers to show
- Pre-PMF with unclear ICP (see pre-PMF website design)
- Running six channels with none working yet
- Buying redesign to avoid fixing product-market fit
Scope by stage
Match spend to stage. Homepage-only solves conversion on one URL. Full Website + Design System + Claude Setup solves page velocity for post-PMF teams who already know they need dozens of modular pages.
Prestige multi-quarter programs fit enterprise brand depth, not Seed teams with a fixed launch date.
The $3-10M trap
Rob Kaminski warns mid-stage teams against chasing shiny adjacencies and core at once. Operational chaos shows up as a "website that needs everything" brief with no priority order.
Pick one job: fix homepage conversion, or build a scalable page system. Doing both without sequence doubles timeline and diffuses quality.
Troy Munson (Dimmo): "if you are looking for a design/dev agency that is damn good at what they do, check them out."
Best for and not best for
Best for: heads of marketing and founders deciding between homepage sprint, full system, or wait.
Not best for: teams wanting a calendar answer without passing website redesign prerequisites.
FAQ
There is no calendar rule. Redesign when positioning, ICP, or product motion changes enough that the current site misleads buyers. Minor refreshes between major redesigns are normal.
Homepage first when conversion on paid or demo traffic is the bottleneck. Full site when marketing already knows the next ten pages they need.
Website + Design System + Claude Setup when you need distinctive identity and AI-scalable pages. See website design system + Claude setup.
Need help deciding what to build first?
Book a sprint call and we will map the right scope for your launch stage.
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