The most common reason a website launches late is not design or code. It is content: the text, photos and details that only the business owner has. Pages wait for a logo file, a service description or a photo of the team, and a project planned for one week takes six. This checklist lists everything to gather before your website project starts, so the design can be built around real content instead of placeholders.
1. Brand files
- Logo in its original file (SVG, AI, EPS or PDF), not a screenshot or a small image from social media.
- Brand colours and fonts, if you have a brand guide; if not, the logo is enough to start.
- Two or three websites you like, with one sentence on why.
2. Business details, written once and used everywhere
Write these in one document exactly as they should appear: business name, address, phone, email, chat apps, opening hours, social media links and your Google Maps link. The same details will appear in the header, footer, contact page and in the data Google reads, so one correct version saves many small mistakes.
3. Page text
You do not need polished copy; notes in plain words are enough for a writer to work from. What matters is that the facts come from you.
- About: why you started, who runs the business, what makes you different.
- Each service or product group: what it is, who it suits, what is included, how long it takes, a price or starting price.
- How you work: the steps from first contact to delivery.
- The ten questions customers ask most, with your usual answers.
4. Photos and video
Real photos win more customers than any stock image. Gather photos of your place, your team, your work or products, and a few of you at work. Phone photos are fine if they are taken in daylight, held level and sent as original files rather than through a chat app that shrinks them. Only use photos you own or have permission to use; images copied from other websites can bring copyright claims.
5. Proof
Collect reviews you already have, with the customer’s permission to show their first name; logos of well-known clients, also with permission; certificates, licences and awards; and numbers you can stand behind, such as years in business or projects completed. Proof placed next to the right service does more than a separate page nobody opens.
6. Legal pages and accounts
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Privacy policy | Required once your forms collect names, emails or phone numbers |
| Terms, refund or booking policy | Answers disputes before they start |
| Domain registrar login | Needed to point the domain to the new site; keep it in your name |
| Email and current hosting access | Avoids losing email or old pages on launch day |
| Google Search Console and Analytics | Keeps your history of visits and searches |
| Google Business Profile | Your map listing should match the new website |
7. Goals: what a visitor should do
Decide the one main action for your website: call, book, buy or send a request. Then decide where each request goes: which email, which phone, which chat app, and who answers it. A website that collects requests nobody sees in time is worse than no form at all.
Write down, too, who your best customers are and what they usually ask before they buy. The answers shape the order of the home page, the wording of the buttons and the questions on each service page. Two or three sentences per customer type are enough.
Do not wait for perfect
Gather what you have and start. A good web team can write page text from a short call, suggest which photos to take and fill gaps while the design takes shape. Pages can be improved after launch; a site waiting for perfect content never launches. If you are replacing an existing website, add the list of current addresses to this checklist and follow our redesign SEO checklist so your Google visits come with you. See how content fits into each step on our process page.
Questions about website content
Who writes the text, us or the web team?
Either. Many clients send notes or answer questions on a call, and the text is written for them to review. Only you can check that the facts and prices are right.
Can we launch with only part of the content?
Yes, if the main pages are complete: home, main services and contact. Empty pages or “coming soon” sections hurt more than a smaller site, so add pages when they are ready.
We need the website in two languages. What changes?
Each page needs its text in both languages, ideally checked by a native speaker. Photos and business details are shared. Read more on international websites.
In short
- Content, not design, is what usually delays a website; gather it before the project starts.
- Prepare brand files, one version of your business details, service notes, real photos and proof.
- Keep the domain and accounts in your name, decide where requests go, and start without waiting for perfect.