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Blueprint Audit

Strategic diagnostic before implementation

A 2-3 week engagement to diagnose your organisation's digital infrastructure needs and create a strategic roadmap—before committing to a £8,000-£18,000 rebuild.

Begin with the Blueprint phase

Most NGOs waste significant budget building the wrong solution because they skip strategic diagnosis.

The Blueprint Audit prevents that by ensuring we understand the institutional problem your website needs to solve—not just the surface symptoms.

WHY STRATEGY COMES FIRST

The symptoms organisations describe:

"It looks outdated"
"It's hard to update"
"Our board keeps complaining about it"
"We're not getting enough donations"

The actual problems I investigate:

  • Is it governance (unclear decision-making, bottlenecks, internal conflict)?
  • Is it stakeholder confusion (different audiences need different information)?
  • Is it institutional complexity (organisation evolved but website hasn't)?
  • Is it operational dysfunction (team can't update without technical dependency)?
  • Is it credibility erosion (website undermines trust)?
  • Is it platform limitations (technology can't support what you need)?

Until we diagnose the actual problem, we're guessing. And guessing with £20,000 is expensive.

What happens during the Blueprint

Week 1-2

Discovery

Organisational Assessment

3-4 stakeholder conversations (45-60 minutes each):

  • Leadership (institutional priorities, strategic context)
  • Communications/Marketing (operational realities, current frustrations)
  • Programmes (how website supports or hinders mission)
  • Development/Fundraising (donor experience, conversion concerns)
  • Board liaison if relevant (governance expectations)

Investigation areas:

  • What organisational changes are coming?
  • Where do website decisions break down?
  • Who gets nervous when the website has problems?
  • What external scrutiny affects your digital presence?
  • What does "success" mean for different stakeholders?

Current State Audit

  • Technical assessment (what's actually broken vs just dated)
  • Content governance analysis (creation, approval, maintenance workflows)
  • Workflow and dependency mapping
  • Integration requirements
  • Compliance and accessibility review
  • SEO and traffic analysis

Stakeholder & Risk Mapping

  • Who cares about your website and what do they need?
  • Where is trust and credibility most fragile?
  • What reputational vulnerabilities exist?
  • What happens if the website fails during critical moments?

Week 3

Strategic Recommendations

1. Problem Definition

  • The institutional problem (not just "website is old")
  • Why this is urgent now
  • Cost of inaction

2. Platform & Architecture Recommendations

  • Should you rebuild, migrate, or optimise?
  • Why this platform for your organisation
  • What alternatives were considered
  • Trade-offs being made

3. Governance Framework

  • Who should own which decisions
  • Approval workflows that prevent dysfunction
  • Content maintenance structure

4. Implementation Roadmap

  • What needs to happen first vs later
  • Dependencies and sequencing
  • Phasing options if budget is constrained
  • Risk mitigation strategies

5. Investment Breakdown

  • Fixed-price implementation estimate
  • What drives cost
  • Ongoing stewardship recommendations
  • ROI framework

6. Presentation & Discussion

  • 90-minute call presenting findings
  • Q&A and recommendations discussion
  • Next steps guidance

What happens after the Blueprint

Option A

Implement with me

  • £8,000-£20,000 based on Blueprint findings (£2,000 Blueprint fully credited)
  • 10-14 weeks from kickoff to launch
  • Design, development, team training, 30-day optimisation, documentation
  • Professional infrastructure built to your exact specifications
Option B

Take recommendations elsewhere

  • The Blueprint is yours—use it however you choose
  • Complete specifications to brief other providers with confidence
  • No obligation to implement with me
  • £2,000 invested in strategic clarity you can action independently
Option C

Decide timing isn't right

  • Blueprint might reveal other priorities should come first
  • £2,000 on diagnosis rather than £18,000 on premature execution
  • Recommendations remain valid when you're ready to proceed
  • No pressure—this is about clarity, not commitment

There's no obligation.

The value is in having clarity before committing to a solution.

Investment

What's included:

  • 2-3 weeks engagement
  • 3-4 stakeholder conversations (45-60 min each, remote or in-person as feasible)
  • Complete audit and analysis
  • Blueprint Audit report (20-35 pages)
  • 90-minute presentation of findings and recommendations
  • Fixed-price implementation proposal (if proceeding makes sense)

What happens to the £2,000 if you proceed:

‍Fully credited toward implementation. You're investing in clarity first, execution second.

Who needs a Blueprint Audit

You definitely need this if:

  • Your total budget for the website project exceeds £8,000
  • Multiple stakeholders have different views on what the website should do
  • You're facing organisational transition (leadership change, merger, strategic pivot)
  • Your current website was built by volunteers or cheap freelancers years ago
  • You've tried "fixing" your website before and it didn't work
  • You're operating under scrutiny (donors, regulators, media, public)

You might not need this if:

  • Your situation is straightforward (simple site, clear brief, no complexity)
  • Your total budget is under £5,000
  • You have complete internal clarity about what needs to be built
  • Speed matters more than getting it exactly right

Questions from NGO decision-makers

Schedule Initial Conversation

You can—with someone else. But skipping diagnosis leads to:

  • Building the wrong thing (solving symptoms, not problems)
  • Scope creep (unclear brief)
  • Stakeholder misalignment (different expectations)
  • Budget overruns (unknowns emerge mid-project)
  • Rebuilding in 2-3 years (wrong foundation)

The Blueprint prevents all of this.

Great—that accelerates the Blueprint. I'll review what you've done, identify gaps, and focus where it's most valuable.

No. The Blueprint is already the minimum viable diagnostic for organisations at this complexity level.

If £2,000 feels steep, your organisation might be better suited to simpler approaches.

We work with whoever is accessible and document the constraint. Limited stakeholder access doesn't prevent proceeding—it clarifies assumptions and where risk exists.