Read the codebase and/or website before designing. The repo and/or website are the source of truth. Start with real content. Pull product names, taglines, and copy from the README. Pull labels, values, and terminology from config files, CLI help text, schemas, and error messages. Nothing invented, nothing placeholder — if the repo doesn't contain it, the design doesn't show it.

Look at existing code for visual identity: color values, type scales, spacing tokens, component patterns. If a design system exists, inherit it. If values are scattered across files, collect them — they reveal visual intent even when undocumented.

Read the core logic and data structures, not just the docs. They tell you the product's native shape — a timeline, a graph, a catalog, a pipeline. Let that shape organize the page instead of a section template.

Find what the README leads with. That feature dominates the page. Establish its weight before placing anything else — what matters before what measures.