What to prepare before building a website

Start with one next step

Before choosing a design, decide what people should do after exploring your website: send an enquiry, book a visit, browse a catalogue or contact your team. A website can support several actions, but it needs a clear priority. Otherwise every page starts asking for everything at once.

Write down your offer in one paragraph: what you do, who it is for, where or how you work, and what the customer receives. This is a working description, not an advertising slogan.

Gather the substance of each service

For each service, explain its purpose, scope, limits and next step. Helping someone recognise when a service fits their situation is more useful than a list of generic benefits. If pricing varies, explain what changes the scope and how an estimate is prepared.

Collect the questions people ask before getting in touch. These inform the explanations and FAQs. If you do not have recorded conversations, start with draft assumptions and check them with the people who speak to customers.

Prepare the evidence

Photographs, completed projects, reviews and documents should support specific claims. For a case study, collect the challenge, work delivered, limitations and result. Metrics need a period, a measurement method and a basis for comparison.

If materials are missing, flag this before design begins. Concept imagery can show a visual direction, but it does not demonstrate a completed client project. Plan photography and any permissions needed for publication.

Agree the structure and future updates

A separate page needs its own purpose and content. Different services usually need different explanations; recurring useful questions can become journal articles. Do not create dozens of near-identical pages just to rearrange keywords.

Decide who will add articles, update services and upload photographs or case studies. This shapes the editor, content model and handover instructions. Plan future language versions from the start, too.

What to bring to the project

• A short description of the business and audience.
• Your services and the main action you want visitors to take.
• Available photographs, copy and cases with publication rights.
• A few references, with notes on what you like about them.
• Plans for languages, updates and future sections.
• Your preferred timing and project constraints.
• The systems that need to connect to the website.

Do not include passwords or personal information in a public brief. Agree a separate way to share access.

What helps search engines

Useful content, accessible links and clear page addresses help search engines discover a website. Google also recommends unique titles and descriptive link text. These steps do not guarantee a position in search results. See the Google SEO Starter Guide.

If you need multiple languages, plan separate URLs for actual translations. See Google’s guidance on multilingual websites.

Where to go next

You do not need a finished technical specification. Start with the business, the task and the materials you already have. The first discussion can define the website scope and what needs to be prepared.