- Scope creep
- Blown timelines
- Vague goals and KPIs
- Feedback loops from too many cooks in the kitchen
5 Proven Ways to Prevent a Neverending Redesign
We’ve been building websites for 25 years, here’s what we know works.
1. Nail Your North Star Before You Sprint
Starting a redesign without goals is like building a boat without a destination. So before you open Figma or write a line of code, ask:- What are the top 3 things this site absolutely must accomplish?
- Who’s using it? CMOs? Prospective customers? Your internal team?
- What metrics matter most—conversions, engagement, time on site?
Capture all of this in a living document (at Ascedia we call it the Strategic Planning doc). It’s your north star. When scope creeps or decisions stall, you go back to this.
2. Avoid Scope Creep (Before It Eats Your Budget)
Scope creep happens to the best of us. You start the project, ideas start flowing, and suddenly a world of possibilities open up.
The problem: If you don’t lock things down early, you’ll blow through time, budget, and team morale.
The fix? A disciplined change process:
- “Must-have” features get greenlit
- “Nice-to-haves” go into a Version 2 backlog
- Every new request includes a signed Change Request with cost, timeline, and priority impact
Bottom line: You can’t say yes to everything—especially not all at once.
3. Get the Right People in the Room
The fastest way to stall a project? Getting feedback from people who weren’t in the first meetings. Your website redesign isn’t an open mic night. Everyone doesn’t get a turn.Build a tight core team and give them real authority:- Project Owner: Owns day-to-day and drives outcomes
- Decision-Maker: Breaks ties and clears roadblocks
- Tech Lead: Knows what’s possible—and what’s not
- Content Lead: Knows what stays, what goes, and what needs a rewrite
- UX or Creative Rep: Keeps users front and center
“One of the best things we did with Sentry’s ROI Tool was keep the core team small. We had weekly stand-ups, a tight review loop, and didn’t get bogged down in internal politics.”
— Stacy Sandee, Director of Project Management, Ascedia
Skip the bloated committees. Keep the circle tight and get the thing live.
4. Keep Momentum Going—Work in Sprints
Web projects are marathons. It takes up a lot of time and energy. And when that happens, delays can happen. Sprints can fix this.Sprints are fixed-length work cycles (usually 1–3 weeks) focused on delivering specific, measurable outcomes. Why they work:
- Built-in deadlines = forward motion
- Defined scope = fewer surprise requests
- Quick wins = team morale stays up
“We used sprint cycles with the Sentry project. It kept everyone focused, no one got overwhelmed, and we hit the finish line ahead of schedule.”
— Stacy Sandee, Director of Project Management, Ascedia
To keep the project on time and on budget you need to carve the work into chunks and ship.
5. Final Word: Launch or Die Trying
Problem redesigns don’t crash—they just slowly stall out on the runway. And the longer they sit there, the harder it is to ever take off.The truth? There’s almost always a process problem. Here’s what winning teams do:
- Set goals and stick to them
- Lock down a decision-ready team
- Work in short, focused sprints
- Say “not now” to anything that doesn’t serve the launch
“We didn’t overthink it. We scoped it, mocked it up, and delivered it in 8 weeks. No drama. No drift. Just progress.”
— Stacy Sandee, Director of Project Management, Ascedia
So yeah, your redesign could turn into a 14-month purgatory of endless edits missed deadlines, and a lot of finger pointing. Or you could finish the thing.
It’s all about how you run the process. At Ascedia, we know how to run the process.
