What to prepare before your website project starts
A practical checklist of the content, access and decisions that make a website project faster, smoother and cheaper.
The quickest website projects have one thing in common: the client arrives prepared. Not with everything finished, just with the basics gathered and a few decisions made.
Here’s the checklist we’d give any client before kickoff.
1. Your goals
Write down, in a sentence or two, what the website needs to do. “Get more enquiries from local customers” is far more useful than “look modern”. It shapes every decision that follows.
2. Brand assets
- Your logo, ideally as an SVG or a high-resolution PNG
- Brand colours and fonts, if you have them
- Any brand guidelines document
No brand guidelines yet? That’s fine. Tell us, and we’ll keep the design simple and consistent.
3. Content
- Text for each page, even as rough drafts
- Photos: your own where possible, stock images where not
- Testimonials, logos or case studies you have permission to use
If writing isn’t your thing, decide early who will handle it. Content is the most common cause of delays (more on that in how long a WordPress website really takes).
4. Examples you like
Collect two or three websites you like and note why: the layout, the colours, the way a page is organised. Examples you dislike are just as helpful.
5. Access details
- Your domain registrar login (or who manages it)
- Your hosting account, if you already have one
- Your current website admin, if we’re redesigning or migrating an existing site
Share access through a password manager or another secure method, never in a plain email.
6. Who decides
Pick one person to collect feedback and give the final yes. Projects move fastest when feedback arrives in one consolidated message from one decision-maker.
7. Your timeline
If there’s a launch date tied to an event, a campaign or a product release, mention it on the first call so the scope and schedule can be planned around it.
You don’t need every item ticked to get started, but each one you have ready saves time later. Bring what you have to the discovery call, and we’ll tell you what’s missing.
