This checklist defines the responsibility boundary of the site before any build or content work begins. Its purpose is to make scope explicit, enforce exclusions, and prevent downstream ambiguity.
This checklist must be completed and approved before continuing to any other Planning or implementation phase.
Checklist Objective
Produce a clear, written definition of what this site is responsible for and what it intentionally does not cover.
Preconditions
- The site exists as a defined project or intentional rebuild
- No WordPress installation or configuration work has begun
- No production content has been drafted or published
Checklist Steps
- Define the primary purpose of the site in one sentence.
- Focus on responsibility, not outcomes
- Avoid marketing language or audience promises
- Identify the primary systems this site documents.
- List systems at a high level only
- Do not describe workflows yet
- Explicitly list what this site does not cover.
- Include adjacent topics that might be assumed
- Be explicit rather than implied
- Identify any companion or external sites that handle excluded scope.
- Reference by name only
- Do not duplicate responsibilities
- Confirm the intended audience level.
- Entry‑level, intermediate, advanced, or mixed
- Single‑site operators vs scaled operators
- Review alignment with downstream planning decisions.
- Read titles only — do not execute steps
- Confirm no contradictions exist
- Related planning:
Required Output
- A one‑sentence site purpose statement
- A list of included responsibility areas
- A list of explicitly excluded areas
- Named companion sites (if applicable)
- Confirmed audience level
Pause & Lock
Once approved, the outputs of this checklist become locked inputs for all downstream Planning and implementation phases.
Completion of this checklist authorizes progression to Planning 02 — Content System & Page Model .