At Smith & Connors, we talk to a lot of clients who are nervous at the beginning of a website project. It’s not because they don’t trust the creative process or that they can’t picture something beautiful at the end. It’s because they see it coming — the meetings, the endless meetings, the disagreements, the swooping. It’s a growing wave of conversation and it’s heading their way.

Leadership has one idea. The program or products team has another. Communications wants control, and the board chair might have a semester of design school or ran marketing at a company and they will inevitably want some veto power. Bob in Operations hates green. When I ask clients what’s keeping them up at night, it’s not the sitemap. It’s managing the people.

The challenge in developing or updating a website isn’t just stakeholder management—it’s change management. A website is a big deal, and it represents a big change. Our clients have a right to be nervous.

Website projects come with a unique set of dynamics. You see it in nonprofits with large boards and complex staff hierarchies, in universities balancing tradition with modernity and in coalitions trying to represent many voices without losing clarity. Almost every organization has a version of this tension. And that tension is totally normal because a website isn’t just a digital product. It’s an expression of who you are, what you believe and how you show up in the world.

So let’s talk about why it feels so hard—and what can help.

The Real Fear: 'What If I Can’t Get Everyone On Board?'

You may be the person tasked with shepherding this project, but you’re not doing it alone. You have to gather input, weigh opinions, navigate politics and synthesize it all into something that makes sense. That’s a tough ask, and it’s why a lot of website projects can feel emotionally loaded before the first kickoff meeting even happens.

In our experience, clients often feel like they need to get buy-in from everyone before they can move forward. But here’s a secret: You don’t. What you need is clarity around who decides.

We encourage our clients to identify a small core team who can act as decision makers — ideally, folks who have authority, context and trust from others in the organization. That core team should have a direct line to leadership and enough insight to filter feedback productively. It is critical that this core team has the pertinent, specific information to share with others about the decision at hand and the implications for it. Everyone else? Yes, they should be heard. But that doesn’t mean every single person needs to approve the final home page copy.

You’re Managing Change, Not Just A Project

A new website means change. And change can be scary—even when it’s good.

People worry about losing their voice, their favorite page or the ability to do things the old way. A new site structure might de-emphasize a program someone built from the ground up. A bold visual direction might feel like a departure from an era they were part of. These feelings aren’t trivial; they’re human.

That’s why it’s important to treat a website project like an organizational change initiative. Build buy-in. Communicate early and often. Invite input — and then set clear expectations about what input will be used and how.

One of our mantras internally is that everyone gets heard, but not everyone gets a vote. That distinction can save months of confusion and tension.

How To Set Yourself Up For Less Stress And More Success

Here are a few practices we’ve seen work really well:

• Create a stakeholder map early. Identify who needs to be involved, what kind of input they should give and when. Be transparent about roles—who’s providing input, who’s reviewing, who’s deciding. This is also a good way to identify who is likely to swoop in at the last minute. It’s like doing a SWOT analysis that plots people into those four quadrants.
• Use workshops, not suggestion boxes. Gathering feedback through facilitated sessions (even virtual ones) creates more clarity than a giant spreadsheet of unranked comments. People feel heard, and the project moves forward.
• Align on strategy before design. The more you can anchor people in shared goals and strategy early on, the easier it is to navigate opinions later. If you all agree the site is about clarity, accessibility and boldness, you have something to come back to when someone says, “But I liked the old font.”
• Focus on the audience. Your website is not really for you. It’s for your customers or constituents. It’s all about their needs. When you communicate that central imperative to your internal stakeholders and ask for their input early, you’re then working together toward a common goal.
• Don’t wait to bring in leadership. If you surprise your CEO with home page wireframes three weeks before launch, you’re inviting derailment. Bring them in at key checkpoints so they feel ownership, not whiplash.

You’re Not Alone

If you’re about to start a website project and you’re feeling overwhelmed, know this: You are not alone. This work is hard not because the tools are complicated, but because organizations are made of people, and people care.

That’s a good thing. And with the right approach, your website project can actually become a catalyst for internal alignment. We’ve seen teams come out of the process not just with a site they love, but also with a stronger sense of who they are and how to talk about their work.