Why this matters
Website projects rarely run late because of the building. They run late waiting for content, decisions and logins. Everything below is something only you can provide, so gathering it before you start is the single biggest thing you can do for the schedule.
1. What the site is actually for
One sentence, in plain words. “Get people to phone-free enquire about installations” is a brief. “A modern, professional web presence” is not – it gives nobody anything to design towards or measure against.
If you can also say what a good month looks like – ten enquiries, thirty orders – the site can be built to do that rather than just to look tidy.
2. Your content
This is the big one. For each page you want, you need words. A five page site is five pages of writing, and it always takes longer than people expect.
You do not need it polished. A rough draft that says the right things is far more useful than a perfect page that arrives three weeks late. If writing is genuinely not going to happen, say so at the start so it can be handled instead of waited on.
3. Images and logo
The highest-resolution version of your logo you can find, and whatever real photographs you have. Real photos of real work beat stock images every time, even when the photography is imperfect.
If there is no usable logo, that is a branding job – from EUR 300 for a kit or a redesign – and it is better done before the site than retrofitted after.
4. Access to what already exists
For a rebuild: the current site, the domain registrar, and the email setup. Tracking down a domain login from eight years ago, registered by someone who has left, is one of the most common delays there is. Start looking now, not on launch week.
5. One person who can say yes
Design needs decisions. If approval has to pass through several people who are never in the same room, add a week. Naming one person who can approve on behalf of the business costs nothing and saves the most time of anything on this list.
What you do not need to prepare
You do not need to know what pages you want, what it should look like, or any technical decisions. That is the job you are hiring for. Come with the problem, not the solution – and if you are not sure what you need, say what you are trying to achieve and let it be worked out with you.
A realistic order of events
Agree what the site must do and get a fixed price in writing. Structure and design get built. Your content goes in. You review it properly and changes are made. Then it goes live with hosting, domain and email set up as part of the package.
Be fussy at the review stage. Changes then are expected and easy; once a design is finalised and agreed, later changes are quoted separately.
What to do next
See how long a website takes to build for realistic timeframes, or the packages for what each size includes. When you are ready, tell us what you are trying to achieve and we will come back within one working day.
Let us know how we can help
Tell us what you need and we will come back within one working day with a clear proposal, pricing and timeframes.