What you say and what you do. Content and functional specifications are set early on.

First, a process for gathering content requirements is decided upon. All data should support key message points for various audiences, and leverage branding and material from print campaigns for consistency. Be rigorous, and weed out redundant and outdated information. Files may need to be saved in different formats to expedite the team's use of them - to be rewritten in a unified tone, for example. Also to be documented at this stage are "Feature sets," or tools a user will require to interact with the content and other users. Examples include login/log out, search, and "send this page to a friend."