Strategy
Strategy
Website Strategy Milton Keynes
Think More, Design Less.
Launching a website isn’t the challenge, it’s knowing what it needs to do, when, and why...
- From our base in Milton Keynes, we help organisations diagnose the problems behind lacklustre performance, weak messaging, or design that misses the mark on their websites.
Makilo use focused workshops and collaborative sessions, where we dig into both the business and creative strategy behind your website, mapping out what’s not working, what users actually need, and whether your site is supporting your wider goals, and occasionally if you even need a website at all!
When it comes to websites, we’ve never seen a quick fix work.
While online builders and off-the-shelf answers seem like time savers, they frequently consume resources much better spent on professional services. Makilos’ strategic phase looks to give you a head start whoever you end up working with.
Alongside our clients, we shape a suitable brief before any ‘solution’ is prescribed, ensuring everyone has clarity, confidence and strategy that everyone can get behind.
Recreated 1970s Milton Keynes Development Corporation hand gate between MK Gallery and Theatre, part of the City Club Project by Gareth Jones and Nils Norman, reflecting the city’s original leisure infrastructure plans.
Reproduction Milton Keynes globe streetlight next to MK Gallery’s 2019 redesign by 6a architects, referencing the original 1970s city lighting by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation.
‘2B Series No.2’ by Bernard Schottlander, 1983, supporting the Milton Keynes Development Corporation’s vision of embedding art into the city’s landscape.
- Introduction
Testimonials (2024 – )
"We gave Makilo a loose brief, and they came back with a clear strategy and a concept that just made sense. The whole thing rolled out seamlessly. No drama, no slowdown, just smart ideas that landed exactly where they needed to."
- Strategy Services
Looking for:
Every project is different, but most Website Design Strategy includes:
- [01]
Workshops & Discovery Sessions
Brand Awareness / Competitor Analysis / KPIs
In-person or remote, we bring key stakeholders together to surface pain points, define goals, and create a shared vision for your project. No assumptions, just a structured way to ensure everyone’s on the same page and focused on return on investment.
- [02]
User & Audience Insights
Competitor Analysis / User Journey / Market Strategy
We combine analytics, user feedback, and practical experience to build a clear picture of who your users are and what they need. This helps focus your website or digital platform on real user requirements and not just what’s being suggested.
- [03]
Content & Messaging Review
Tone of voice / Social Media Channels / Art Direction / Marketing Options
We review tone, information flow, and structure to ensure your website is saying the right things to the right people at the right time. Strategic workshops help identify content gaps and opportunities for clearer, more effective communication.
- [04]
Functionality Mapping
System architecture / Integration / Data Structure
We define what your site really needs to do. From forms, filters, integrations, even interactivity, and then flag what can be simplified or removed for a better user experience and cost savings for the the overall project.
- [05]
Roadmapping & Recommendations
Project Management / Budgeting / Client Management Tools / Support
You’ll get a clear, jargon-free strategic plan. Sometimes a written report, sometimes a technical specification, sometimes a detailed scoping document. Whatever format, it lays out some priorities, dependencies, and actions. Whether you’re rebuilding or refining you’ll know what’s next.
- [06]
Accessibility & Compliance Checks
WCAG compliance / Screen reader simulation / Usability barriers
Is your site usable for everyone — including users with impairments or assistive devices? We highlight WCAG issues and general usability blockers.
Makilo believe in supporting the creative and technology sector across Milton Keynes, failing that we can use AI with the best of them.
- Strategy Services
Working with Makilo
Why Website Redesign Strategy Sessions Matter More Than Ever
- In a business landscape crowded with templated sites and recycled designs, a clear strategy is what keeps your website relevant, effective, and genuinely useful.
A better brief means a better build and undertaking a strategic phase early to consolidate one means less work and more cost-effective projects. For clients in Milton Keynes our strategic approach has already turned vague ideas into confident actions. Working through our process gives you a roadmap you can trust and project where you can clearly track ROI.
Need help aligning your team before you start building?
Let’s run a strategic workshop >
Strategy looks different for each client, here are some extras to Consider in a MK Website Strategy Project
- Competitor Audits to see how your brand stacks up
A competitor audit goes beyond a surface-level review of rival websites. We conduct a detailed analysis of their messaging, features, strengths, and gaps, uncovering what resonates with your shared audiences. This helps identify opportunities for differentiation, benchmarking your brand’s digital presence against what’s working elsewhere, and ensuring you’re setting the pace in your industry. Competitor Audits >
- KPI alignment sessions to define what success looks like
Before design or development, we work with you to pinpoint the key metrics that matter most and build projects outwards from there. Whether it’s conversions, leads, engagement, or something more unique to your goals. This step ensures everyone is focused on outcomes that deliver real value, allowing us to measure progress and adapt strategy with transparency and confidence. KPI Alignment >
- User Journey Mapping across key personas
Understanding how users interact with your site is essential to building an experience that truly works them. Through persona-based journey mapping, we chart typical user paths from first contact to conversion. This highlights friction points, content gaps, and any untapped moments for engagement, enabling us to design with more empathy at every stage User Journey Mapping >
- Brand Awareness exercises to sharpen your tone and personality
A clear, distinctive ‘brand voice’ can often set your website apart. Our exercises help surface your brand’s personality, tone, and messaging, making sure it speaks consistently across every webpage. We identify what makes you ‘you’, and translate that into stronger language and visuals, so your audience connect instantly with who you are and what you stand for. Brand Awareness>
- Technical feasibility checks for planned features
It’s easy to get excited about new features, but not all ideas are practical or cost-effective. We assess the technical feasibility of every requirement, flagging risks and uncovering smarter solutions. This early-stage check prevents expensive surprises later, keeps projects on track, and ensures everything we recommend aligns with your budget, timeline, and existing systems. Technical Feasibility >
- Stakeholder alignment to keep everyone on the same page
Great strategy needs buy-in from everyone involved. We create stakeholder alignment packs—clear, visually engaging summaries of project goals, user needs, and agreed actions. These packs help teams communicate internally, get sign-off from decision-makers, and maintain focus throughout the project, making sure nothing gets lost in translation from planning to launch. Data Mapping Service >
Makilo believe in supporting the creative and technology sector across Milton Keynes.
- Process
What we do
Get Strategic. Get Creative.
Get Building. Understanding the strategic website development process in 3 easy steps.
Strategy
- Do this before you go anywhere near that >
Design
- Do this before you go anywhere near that >
Development
- Do this before you go anywhere near that >
Who its helped
- We’ve supported a diverse range of local organisations through strategic phases. From ambitious start-ups to established institutions. Our approach ensures each website serves real business needs, helping clients clarify objectives, reach the right audiences, and achieve measurable outcomes that drive growth.
- App Services
Commercial Value
Website Marketing Strategy: The Business benefits of a strategic site.
- Aligning Website Design With Marketing Objectives
A well-defined website marketing strategy should act as the foundation for many of the design decisions made during your project. By understanding who you’re targeting, what messaging resonates, and which channels drive your best customers, your sites design can be tailored to guide visitors toward actions they’re more likely to engage with. Whether that’s making an enquiry, downloading a resource, or booking a service. This overall sense of alignment ensures that every visual and structural element supports your broader marketing goals, driving better engagement and conversion rates. People stick around on sites they like!
- Turning Insight into more Opportunities
When website design is informed by marketing strategy, it’s much easier to spot gaps, untapped audiences, or moments where competitors fall short. Data from digital campaigns, SEO, or social channels can reveal new content needs, calls-to-action, or user journeys worth optimising, trouble is client often need help finding the time to capitalise. By iterating over our designs in response to these insights, your website becomes a more agile business tool, one where a trustworthy client supplier relationship means you can adapting quickly to changing trends and unlock new opportunities for growth.
- Competitive Advantage you can own
A website that’s informed by marketing strategy it’s only about it looking good at the moment it launches but about it working harder for your business over the next few years. By connecting your brand story, user experience, and marketing efforts, you build credibility and trust with your audience. This strategic approach is tough, especially alone, but done right it’ll easily differentiate you from competitors with generic, ‘template’ sites. Positioning your business as whatever you feel is an identity you can control; thoughtful, customer-focused, innovative? Means that you’ll be ready to seize new market opportunities as they arise.
- Introduction
Testimonials (2024 – )
"We gave Makilo a loose brief, and they came back with a clear strategy and a concept that just made sense. The whole thing rolled out seamlessly. No drama, no slowdown, just smart ideas that landed exactly where they needed to."
3,000,000 Trees and counting...
It’s easier on a tablet than using your fingers
If that sounds like a good fit for you; or you’d like to know more about how we work, please feel free to get in touch with us.
- Recent Posts
Our interests (2024 – 2025)
