Website Project 101: A Guide to Getting Started

Starting a website project can be exciting but getting started may feel a bit overwhelming. To help incoming clients hit the ground running, we asked four DMO leaders who've been through the process to share what worked, what surprised them, and what they'd tell themselves at the start.

Hear from leaders at Visit Indy, Visit Columbus, Discover Lehigh Valley, and Experience Ruston about what they wish they had known before starting their website project and the tips and tricks that helped the process go smoothly.

Story Content:

The Creative Brief

Collaboration & Communication

Content Strategy

Branding

Creative Decisions

Working in Craft CMS

Keeping Everyone Informed

Final Advice

The Creative Brief

Before a single design is sketched or a site is mapped, Tempest shows up. The creative brief is an in-person visit where the team learns everything they can about your destination, your partners, and your story.

Whether it's the world's largest pecan, a purse museum, or a hiking trail that has the best views, choose spots that tell the narrative of your destination and what makes it unique to the visitor experience. To make the most of it, come prepared and be intentional with your itinerary.

Think carefully about who should be in the room. Bring board members, community voices, and local partners — the people who know your destination best should have a seat at the table from day one.
Plan stops that actually tell your story. Go to the spots that matter most, not just the ones that photograph well.
Don't be afraid to show Tempest the things that don't always make the social media grid. That's usually where the best design ideas come from.
Consider the arrival experience itself. How your team and your destination show up from the very first moment is part of the story.

Tempest met with our entire team, but we also scheduled separate in-person discussions with local partners and board members. We felt it was essential to have community voices at the table so the website would truly reflect the people and organizations that shape our destination.

— Misty WeisensteinerExecutive Director, Visit Columbus

Collaboration & Communication

Website projects require strong communication and a clear structure for ownership and task prioritization. Treat the project as an organizational priority from day one and structure your team accordingly.

Assign a dedicated internal point person (or small team) who can meet Tempest's needs and keep deliverables moving
Keep your executive director or decision-maker involved early so approvals don't stall
Hold internal alignment meetings before your Tempest calls so your team arrives ready to move
Use shared tracking tools (Tempest provides Google Sheets) to manage feedback and project checklists
When design review comes around, compile all internal notes into a single, consolidated response rather than sending feedback piecemeal

Building a website is a partnership, and they held us accountable to holding up our end of the bargain. In the end, we worked very well together. With every meeting we would tackle certain aspects of the website and assign responsibilities on both sides, and by the next meeting we would be testing and checking off updates as we worked through the long list of requirements.

— Jeff RobinsonVice President of Marketing and Partnerships, Visit Indy

Content Strategy & Information Architecture

Before anything new gets designed, Tempest will take a look at what you already have. The content audit catalogs each existing page, evaluates what's performing well, and informs the team's decisions about what deserves to make the cut for the new site.

"Tempest really helped put our minds at ease. They showed us that it was possible to catalog that content, streamline it, and structure it in a way that still honored what was important — while making the site much more visitor-focused and easy to navigate." — Misty Weisensteiner, Executive Director, Visit Columbus

So how do you prepare for a content audit like this?

Spend time in your analytics before the IA phase begins. Know which pages visitors are actually using versus which ones your organization has always assumed mattered.
Go in with the mindset that no page is sacred. The content audit is the moment to restructure, consolidate, and cut.
Lean into the outside perspective Tempest brings. Their job is to look at your site the way a first-time visitor would.

Think of it like you're moving and getting ready to pack. The best part of moving is getting rid of old stuff so you only bring the things you need and that serve you.

— Alisa LopanoDirector of Brand Strategy, Discover Lehigh Valley

Branding

One of the most practical questions a DMO can ask before starting a website project is simple: how established is our brand right now? The answer will shape how you approach design from the start.

If your brand feels outdated or unclear, consider a full rebrand before the website project begins. It makes every design decision easier when you're working from a clean, defined foundation.
If you have an existing logo and color palette you're happy with, that's a great starting point. Tempest can help round out your brand guidelines and make everything feel cohesive.
Either way, the website process will push your brand forward. Many DMOs find that the style guide developed during the project becomes their go-to brand reference across all channels

The Tempest team took our basics and truly elevated them for the site — staying true to our overall aesthetic but bringing in some fun, bold elements. We're actually using the website style guide as our brand guide for the time being and it's helped us create a new visitor guide that echoes the same aesthetic as our website.

— Tori DavisDirector of Marketing & Communications, Experience Ruston

Creative Decisions

The creative decisions that go into a new website bring everything together, from the initial creative brief to the first design preview. Every element is a culmination of the details and inspiration the Tempest team has gathered throughout the project including:

subtle logo integrations
thoughtful animations
gradient elements that showcase the brand's color palette
page-level toggles that let the design adapt depending on where a visitor lands

Overall, what we love most is that the site feels authentic to us — it’s bold, inviting, and full of personality, which is exactly what we hoped our destination website would be.

— Misty WeisensteinerExecutive Director, Visit Columbus

Working in Craft CMS

Switching to a new CMS can come with a learning curve, but Craft is intuitive once you're in it and you won't be navigating it alone. Here's what to expect before the keys are handed over:

Tempest provides thorough training sessions before launch so your team feels confident in the system before ever touching the live site.
You'll have access to a staging environment where your team can explore, experiment, and get comfortable with Craft before anything goes public.
A dedicated support team is available to answer questions before, during, and after launch so nothing lingers or slows you down.

We started experimenting and they were extremely responsive as questions emerged. I can't say how important that is. When questions linger, it eats up precious time. By quickly resolving any issues it kept us on pace.

— Jeff RobinsonVice President of Marketing and Partnerships, Visit Indy

Keeping Everyone Informed

Stakeholder communication during a website project should be consistent and intentional but structure matters. The goal is to keep people informed without opening the floodgates on feedback at every stage.

Share high-level design visuals and progress updates with your board and community partners throughout the process, but be deliberate about framing those moments as informational, not invitations for open-ended feedback.
Include website updates in existing staff meetings and board presentations so nothing feels like a surprise at launch.
Funnel all feedback through one internal owner before it goes to Tempest. Consolidated, clear communication keeps the project moving.
Before every meeting with Tempest, hold a quick internal sync so your team shows up aligned.

There are a ton of elements that go into a website, but you tackle them all at once. By collectively understanding your top priorities, you'll get the most of out your meeting times.

— Jeff RobinsonVice President of Marketing and Partnerships, Visit Indy

Website Points of Pride

Tempest’s goal is to create a website that is both representative of and unique to your destination, so you can showcase it with pride. When we asked DMOs what they were most proud of on their new site, every answer was different, reinforcing that idea.

Visit Indy highlights intelligent search as a standout feature. Most visitors use search rather than navigation, and a search engine that helps them find what they need, even when they’re not sure what that is yet, has improved their experience moving through the site.

Visit Columbus is most proud of the overall transformation: a clean, photo-forward design that speaks to visitors and residents. Since launch, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with partners and community members commenting on how easy it is to navigate and how well it captures the destination.

Discover Lehigh Valley highlights the visuals, search functionality, and mobile display, three areas where the leap forward from their previous site was most visible.

Experience Ruston's Tori Davis was gushing about her site daily for months after launch. Beyond the enthusiasm, she points to intuitive navigation and a visual events calendar as technical wins, and the overall look as something that has impressed partners, community members, and media partners.

Final Advice

Finally, each destination that went through this process was asked to share one piece of advice for other DMOs just beginning their projects. Here’s what they had to say:

Visit Columbus: "Do as much preparation as you can on your content before the build begins. Take the time to clean up your existing pages before moving to a new site. It makes a huge difference to go into the process with streamlined with up-to-date content rather than trying to carry over outdated or unnecessary information."

Visit Indy: "This is a team endeavor, and success is a byproduct of each team member carrying their weight. Expectations should be high on both sides and if everyone pushes themselves to deliver at a high level the possibilities are endless."

Experience Ruston: "Be honest with the team and tell them if something isn't landing for you. This is a major investment for your DMO and everyone involved wants it to be what you need and want it to be. The more you can share with the team about your vision and needs for the site, the better!"

Discover Lehigh Valley: "Don't be afraid to ask questions of the Tempest team, if you need further clarification or need further support."