Intake website change requests is where most agencies quietly lose weeks.
Not because the work is hard.
Because the request arrives wrong.
It shows up in a message.
Or as a vague note at the end of a call.
Or as “can you just fix this real quick?”
Then your team spends days clarifying basics.
Or ships under pressure.
Or both.
This is one of the core pieces of:
client website governance for agencies
Why Intake Is Where Chaos Starts
Chaos starts when a request arrives without context.
No goal.
No definition of done.
No deadline clarity.
No owner.
So you fill in the blanks.
Then stakeholders disagree about what you assumed.
And the change gets reversed.
Or blamed.
Or both.
The One-Path Rule (How to Get Clients to Use It)
One path means:
Every website change request goes through the same front door.
That’s how you stop scatter.
It’s also how you stop “unreviewed urgency.”
To get clients to use it, make it feel helpful:
- It prevents back-and-forth
- It makes timelines predictable
- It reduces mistakes
You’re not saying “no.”
You’re saying “yes, and here’s how we do it fast.”
What to do when someone bypasses intake
Have a default response.
Calm.
Consistent.
Here’s a script you can adapt:
“Got it. Please drop this into the request path so we can capture goal, deadline, and approvals. That’s how we keep changes moving without surprises.”
If the bypass is truly urgent, intake still happens.
It just happens fast.
You can’t skip the front door and still call it governance.
What Every Request Must Include (Or It Doesn’t Enter the Queue)
If you want fewer stalls, make requests come with the information your team needs.
Here’s the minimum set:
- Page / URL: Where is the change?
- Goal: What outcome are we optimizing for?
- Audience: Who is this for?
- Change request: What is actually being changed?
- Definition of done: How do we know it’s correct?
- Deadline: Why this date?
- Risk flags: Does it touch claims, tracking, or policy?
- Approvals needed: Who must sign off?
If the request is missing key fields, it’s not “blocked.”
It’s incomplete.
That framing matters.
Triage by Risk Tier (Not by Loudness)
Most agencies triage by whoever is loudest.
That’s how low-value work becomes urgent.
Triage by risk tier instead.
| Risk tier | What it usually means | Default behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Low risk | Reversible, limited scope, no policy/claim impact | Fast path with minimal review |
| Medium risk | Meaningful change, contained impact | Review + explicit decision owner |
| High risk | Brand claims, tracking/measurement, legal/policy, irreversible effects | Explicit sign-off + written decision record |
This is how you ship quickly without gambling.
If you need the approval system that pairs with these tiers, use:
Lightweight Approval Workflows for Website Changes
How to Prevent ‘Unreviewed Urgency’
Unreviewed urgency is when a request feels urgent, so the process gets skipped.
That’s when mistakes happen.
And that’s when blame spreads.
Prevent it with two rules:
- Urgent requests still go through intake
- High-risk requests require explicit sign-off
When stakeholders disagree about urgency, you need a tie-breaker.
That’s covered here:
When Stakeholders Disagree About a Website Change
And if you want the execution layer that keeps changes visible and explainable, use:
website change management for agencies
For an external baseline on triage and escalation roles, see:
U.S. government guidance on incident response triage and prioritization
And for change control fundamentals:
U.S. government guide on configuration and change control
Getting Started: Your Intake Template
Your intake doesn’t need to be fancy.
It needs to be consistent.
- Pick one intake path: One place requests go. Make it obvious and easy.
- Define required fields: Page/URL, goal, audience, request, definition of done, deadline, risk flags, approvers.
- Add risk tiers: Low/medium/high with one clear rule per tier.
- Write the bypass script: A calm response that routes requests back to intake.
- Run one real request through it: Use the next request as your test case.
- Adjust after one week: Improve fields based on what was missing most.
