Website Redesign Assumptions and Exclusions: A Practical Worksheet

Assumptions explain what your project plan depends on. Exclusions explain what you have agreed not to deliver. Keep both close to the scope so the client can understand the arrangement before work begins.

This is a project-planning worksheet. It is not a set of legal terms or a default list of features every agency should exclude.

Start with three separate lists

Type	What it means	Example
Confirmed requirement	Work the project includes	Customers can book a consultation
Assumption	Something the plan currently relies on	The client will supply the current service list
Exclusion or later phase	Work outside this agreed delivery	A second language is planned for a later phase

An assumption that affects delivery should have someone responsible for confirming it.

Copy this assumptions table

Assumption	Why it matters	Who confirms it	Needed by	Status
Supplied service information is current	It will appear on public pages	[Name]	[Date]	Open
The client can authorize access to the relevant tools	Imports and connections depend on access	[Name]	[Date]	Open
One person consolidates feedback	Conflicting instructions need a decision	[Name]	[Date]	Open
The agreed domain can be connected	Publication requires the relevant access	[Name]	[Date]	Open

Replace these examples with the project’s actual dependencies. Do not leave an important assumption unresolved simply because it is written down.

Define exclusions precisely

“SEO excluded” is ambiguous. Does that mean no keyword research, no article writing, no redirect work or none of those?

Describe the actual boundary:

The project includes reviewing the agreed page titles and implementing the listed redirects. Ongoing article production and link outreach are not part of this engagement.

Similarly, “content supplied by client” should state whether your agency will edit, format or import that content.

Use the scope template to keep included work and excluded work consistent.

Do not confuse service scope with Revamp’s capabilities

Revamp supports complete websites, including bookings, payments, accounts, imported information and connected business tools. These are not automatically outside a redesign.

Your agency chooses what it includes in a particular engagement. A later phase can mean “not in this service scope,” rather than “the platform cannot do it.”

Record connected-tool responsibilities

For each connected service, identify:

The account owner and person who authorizes access.
The information or action the website needs.
Whether the connection is a one-time import or ongoing.
Who maintains the source information.
Which service subscriptions are involved.

Verify the particular workflow during the project. Naming a tool in a proposal is not the same as confirming access to the customer’s required information.

Explain how the client reviews and approves the website

A Revamp preview lets the client explore the website you are building. Your team can refine the design and working features there before publishing the same project.

Useful wording:

We will share the website in preview for review. The existing public website remains unchanged while we make the agreed updates. Publication happens after the designated person approves it.

Revamp supports continuing from the redesign through working features and publication in the same project.

When an assumption changes

Record the new information, explain which deliverables it affects and agree on the next step. That may be a revised sequence, a different connection, additional work or moving an item to a later phase.

Keep the tone practical:

The client now needs a separate booking flow for each branch. We will update the requirements to describe those flows and confirm how this changes the agreed delivery.

Use the revision workflow to distinguish a correction from a new requirement.

Frequently asked questions

Should every project use the same exclusions?

No. Base them on the actual service being purchased. A copied exclusion can contradict a feature promised elsewhere in the proposal.

Are assumptions a replacement for discovery?

No. They make unresolved points visible so they can be confirmed.

Where should the client see these?

Alongside the deliverables and responsibilities, while reviewing the scope. Do not rely on a disconnected list that neither side uses during delivery.

Explore Revamp for agencies to build and manage the agreed client work.