How to manage everyone who wants to be involved in your website redesign
Herding cats is possible with respect and boundaries.

Redesigning a website is an exciting time. It’s an opportunity for a fresh look and more effective messaging. Many stakeholders also see it as a chance to have their say.
People want to feel involved and that their input is valued. However, engaging too many people can slow the process. And pleasing lots of stakeholders is a huge challenge. So what’s a marketing team to do?
At Coffey Communications, we’ve developed strategies to keep web projects on task and on time. Here are three ways we facilitate efficient projects that get valuable buy-in from stakeholders—and keep marketing teams sane.
Identify stakeholders and roles
Decide who should be involved in the project and in what capacity. We recommend including people from all areas and levels of your organization. Some C-suite folks want to be a part of the process. And if you can include subject matter experts who have knowledge of more than one location or department, they can make the process easier.
Once you’ve compiled a list of these stakeholders, identify who will do what. Think of it as a funnel, with most people giving input at the beginning of the process. The marketing team will be the bottom of the funnel, making the final decisions. And some subject matter experts will be in the middle.
Start big, then get small
Pulling everyone together for a discovery meeting where each person can address their specific goals for a new website might sound like a nightmare. But it can actually be really effective.
The Coffey team recently visited a client at the beginning of their website project. We facilitated a session with all the stakeholders—the top of the funnel. Everyone felt heard and involved. Then we were able to work with the small marketing team to distill this input and use it to help move the project forward.
Remember that you don’t have to embrace every idea presented. Best practices are best practices for a reason. And if one of your stakeholders doesn’t like green, but it’s the main color in your brand palette? Well, sometimes we have to thank people for sharing their thoughts and then move on.
Communicate with collaborators
From beginning to end, keep stakeholders in-the-know. Make sure they understand their role and the overall process. And keep them up-to-date as the project progresses.
These updates will help stakeholders feel a sense of ownership, even if their active participation is no longer needed. This can translate into support and enthusiasm for the project and marketing efforts as a whole.
Start your healthcare web project on the right foot
At Coffey Communications, our content and design teams have streamlined web development processes. This means engaged stakeholders and webpages that exceed expectations. Let’s talk about how we can help with your project. Give us a call at 888.805.9101 or email us to get started.