Running a business leaves little time to write about it, and the website is often the task that waits until the rest of the week is done. Knowing what to prepare before a website project, and starting early, is most of the remedy.
A designer can only build with what you hand over
Every gap in the material turns into a question, and every question waits for somebody on the client’s side to answer it. The build stops, starts again and stops, and the launch date moves.
Get the material ready before the build days are booked. Whether you book a landing page, a one-page website or a five-page website, your dates are fixed once the material is in, and you gather it from a short checklist I send you.
“Alan developed a complete four-week launch structure that gave our internal team real clarity. His planning bridged strategy and execution, turning ideas into a practical roadmap. The rollout felt organised and consistent, with clear phases to follow.”Marketing Strategy, Love Boo, UK
When should your website copy be final?
Before the build starts. The copy is the slowest part to prepare and the easiest to underestimate. Write it in full, read it aloud, and have it approved by whoever signs off. Each launch has a word allowance, listed on the Services page, so you know how much to write.
Final means copy you would be happy to see live tomorrow:
- The spelling is checked.
- The names of your services, your phone number and your address are the ones you want customers to use.
- Headings, button labels and the questions on your enquiry form are written too. They are easy to forget until the page is built.
If you want customer reviews on the site, ask each customer for permission now, along with the name and business they are happy to show. Those replies arrive in their own time, so ask early.
The build includes organising your copy into the page, and copy polish is available for text you supply. If you need your message written from scratch, we plan that before any build is booked. We also agree the order before the build: what your visitor reads first, what comes next, and where the page asks them to act.
The unglamorous documents are the ones that answer the question stopping the enquiry.
What photographs and videos does a website need?
The ones you choose yourself, within the image allowance for your launch. Send the original files. A screenshot from social media looks soft on a large screen, and nothing in the build can put the detail back. Videos work the same way: send the original file, never a link to a post.
A few strong photographs do more for a page than a folder of similar ones. If you need new photographs, book the shoot before the build. Put the finished files in folders by section, or name them so the order is obvious. Choosing photographs on a build day uses up the time meant for design.
What brand files and access does a designer need?
Keep these together in a single folder:
- Your logo, in its original format
- Your colours and your fonts
- Your brand guidelines. If there are none, a page showing the logo, the colour codes and the font names does the job.
If your brand is still being designed, finish it first. A website built around a logo that changes next month gets built twice.
For the site to go live at the end of the build, your domain and hosting need to be set up and connected beforehand. A Canva site needs only the domain, because Canva hosts it. Before we start, I explain what the site needs and who owns each account. Logins are shared securely after booking, never through the enquiry form.
Gather the documents nobody enjoys writing
Run sheets, rate cards, opening hours, what your customer needs to bring. The unglamorous documents are the ones that answer the question stopping the enquiry.
They are the pages owners leave until last, and they are often what a visitor wanted to read before writing to you. Gather them with the copy, and the build can place each answer where the question comes up.
A simple test: if customers ask you the same question by phone every week, the answer belongs on the site.
Decide who gives the feedback
A website needs a single person who can say yes. Feedback from a committee arrives late and disagrees with itself.
If a partner or a director has to agree, let them see the plan before the build and agree between yourselves before each check-in. The designer then receives a single answer, on time.
On a booked build, the person who signs off joins the agreed check-ins and replies promptly. A fast launch depends on both sides, and the decisions are the part only you can bring.
Questions people ask before a website project
What do I need before I build a website?
Final copy approved by whoever signs off, your chosen photographs and videos as original files, your logo, colours and fonts, access to your domain and hosting, and a single person who can say yes.
Should I write the website copy myself?
If you can, yes, because nobody knows the business better. Copy polish is available for text you supply, and original copywriting is planned before a build is booked.
Do I need a brand before I build a website?
It helps to finish it first. If you have no brand yet, colours and a type pairing can be set up before the build, as a Brand Starter Kit.
Can I use photos from my social media?
Use the original files wherever you have them. A photograph saved from social media has been compressed, and it looks soft on a large screen.
