What content you need before a web designer starts your website

Content is the text, images, and files that fill your website. A designer can build pages without it, but the pages will not be finished until it arrives. Late content is one of the most common reasons a launch date slips.

This checklist lists what to gather before design starts. Some items take a day. Others take weeks, so start with the slow ones.

Why content should come first

A layout built around real text looks different from a layout built around placeholder text. A page with three short paragraphs needs a different design than a page with twelve service descriptions. When the designer sees the real material early, the design fits it from the start.

Real content also shows gaps. You may find that a service has no photo, or that the about page has nothing to say yet. Fixing that on day one costs less than fixing it the week before launch.

Text for every page

Start with a page list. Most business sites need a home page, a page for each main service, an about page, and a contact page. Write down every page you expect to have. If you are replacing an existing site, our guide on how to redesign a website without losing search rankings explains how to decide which current pages to keep.

Then gather text for each page. A useful set includes:

• A main headline that says what you do and who it is for
• A short description of each service or product
• Your story, including who runs the business and how long it has operated
• Answers to the questions customers ask most often
• A clear next step for each page, such as call, book, or request a quote

Rough text is fine. A designer or copywriter can edit it. Blank pages cannot be edited.

If the old site has text that ranks in Google, send it along and flag it. That text may need to stay close to its current form.

Photos and video

Photos of your real team, space, and work build more trust than stock photos. Gather what you have before asking for new shoots. Send original files from the camera or phone, not screenshots or images saved from social media. Original files keep their full quality.

List the shots that are missing. Common gaps are a team portrait, photos of finished work, and an image of the building or storefront. If a photographer is needed, book one early. Good photographers often have a waiting list.

Send any video with the photos. Note where each one should appear if you know.

Add a short description for each image, such as who is in it or what it shows. Descriptions help with image alt text, which screen readers read aloud to visitors who cannot see the image.

Brand files

Send your logo in its original format. Ask whoever made it for the vector files. These tend to end in .svg, .ai, .eps, or .pdf. A vector logo stays sharp at any size. A small .jpg does not.

Also send:

• Your brand colors, as hex codes if you have them
• Your brand fonts, if you use set fonts
• Any brand guide or style sheet
• Logo versions for light and dark backgrounds

If you have no brand guide, say so. The designer can propose colors and fonts, and that work belongs in the schedule.

Business details

Collect the facts that appear in the header, footer, and contact page. These are your business name, address, phone number, email, and hours. Decide on one exact form of each and use it everywhere. Your Google Business Profile, your social accounts, and your website should all match.

Add service areas, license numbers, insurance details, and professional memberships if they apply to your trade.

Proof that people trust you

Visitors look for signs that other customers were happy. Gather:

• Customer reviews and testimonials
• Case studies or before and after examples
• Awards, certifications, and press mentions
• Logos of clients or partners

Ask permission before you publish a customer’s name, photo, or words. Keep the written okay on file. Give the designer the full text of each review, not a summary.

Legal pages

Most sites need a privacy policy. Many also need terms of service, a cookie notice, or a refund policy. The requirements depend on where you operate and what the site collects. A lawyer or a policy service can advise on this. Do not wait until launch week to ask, since legal text can take time to review.

Accounts and logins

The designer needs access to a few accounts. Gather these early because password resets and ownership questions take time:

• Domain registrar, where your domain name is registered
• Current hosting account, if the site is moving
• Google Analytics and Google Search Console
• Google Business Profile
• Email marketing or booking tools that connect to the site
• Social media accounts you plan to link

Check that your business owns each account. If a former employee or past agency registered the domain in their own name, sort that out now. Moving a domain back to its owner can take days.

Decide who owns each task

Assign every item above to a named person. Set a due date for each one. Pick one person to approve the final text and images, so the designer receives one answer and not three.

Agree on a deadline for all content, and ask the designer what happens if it passes. In many projects, late content moves the launch date by the same number of days.

Put the content plan in your brief as well. Our guide on how to write a website design brief for an agency shows where it fits and what else to include.

What to do if you cannot write it all

Many owners do not have time to write a full site. That is common. Some agencies offer copywriting, and some owners hire a writer on their own. Tell the designer early which path you are taking. A copywriter needs time to interview you and write, and design often depends on their work.

If you will write it yourself, begin with the home page and the main service page. Those two pages shape the rest of the site.