Stakeholders agree once
Sessions surface competing priorities while they are still cheap to reconcile, not after a design has been drawn to one of them.
Check the catalogue and order systems before planning the build.
Discovery examines the storefront, product data and the systems involved in a purchase. The output records confirmed requirements and unresolved dependencies so a design decision does not assume unavailable inventory or fulfilment behaviour.
A few clients we’ve worked with
What we do
Website discovery for ecommerce businesses: catalogue inventory, order-flow review, build requirements.
What website discovery needs to account for.
Variant data may be owned outside the storefront CMS.
The order process includes exceptions that a sample checkout may not reveal.
Shipping and tax behaviour need verified business rules before implementation.
What discovery settles before design starts.
A project can be ready for discovery before it is ready for design. Finding the unresolved questions early is what keeps the build from pausing.
Dependencies appear early
Technical constraints and the systems the website has to live with are identified before they become a mid-build surprise.
The next stage can be scoped
A brief naming the decisions and open questions lets design, content and development be quoted against something real.
Website discovery scope.
Plan catalogue inventory, order-flow review and build requirements as connected parts of the engagement.
Catalogue inventory
Review products, variants, attributes, images and category rules. Identify the system that owns each field and how changes reach the website.
Order-flow review
Map payment, stock, shipping and customer communications using authorised access. Record manual steps and exceptions.
Build requirements
Document editing needs, integrations, migration boundaries and launch checks. Assign owners to missing access and unanswered commercial rules.
Selected website projects across our wider practice
All case studies
“What I appreciate most is that the team always communicates openly and stays honest throughout.”
“They delivered what they said they would, on time.”
“They met all our expectations by providing great strategies based on our needs.”
Website discovery deliverables.
The agreed website discovery scope is documented in the following work products.
- 01
Current content and system inventory
- 02
Build requirements and dependency register
- 03
Open-question log with responsible owners
Our process
How we approach website discovery.
Inspect catalogue ownership
Review product types, variants, assets and the systems responsible for price and stock.
[ 01 ]
Trace order exceptions
Map checkout, fulfilment and customer communications using documentation and authorised test access.
[ 02 ]
Confirm build requirements
Record supported behaviour, integration dependencies and unresolved commercial decisions.
[ 03 ]The people who do this work.
No account layer between you and them. These are the Norml specialists this work runs through.
Let's chat
“I've spent 10 years working across development and marketing. I started as a developer, but design, SEO and advertising were already part of the job. That taught me to treat a website as one system: the business, the content, the design and the code have to work together. At Norml, I lead the architecture behind our work and stay involved wherever strategy, design, development and search meet.”
Max TymoshynFounder & Architect
Get startedWebsite discovery for ecommerce businesses: questions.
Do you need to place real orders?
Discovery can begin with documentation and authorised test facilities. Any live transaction requires an explicit test plan and approval.
Can discovery cover a store with several stock locations?
Yes. We map inventory ownership and fulfilment rules rather than assuming one location supplies every order.
Discuss website discovery and the requirements behind your store.