What to prepare before someone builds your website
A website only sounds like your business when the words and pictures come from you. Here’s what to pull together first, whoever ends up building it.
The checklist
- Your business name, spelled the way you want it shown.
- One sentence: what you do, and who for.
- Each service or product you want listed, with a sentence or two on each.
- Your prices, or how to get a quote, if you want them on show.
- The contact details you’re happy to make public: phone, email, address, opening hours.
- The one thing you want a visitor to do: call, email, visit or book.
- Your logo. The original file, if you have it.
- Photos you have the right to use.
- Reviews from customers who’ve agreed to be quoted.
- The questions customers ask you most, with your answers.
- Your web address, if you own one, and where it’s registered.
Want it on paper? Use your browser’s Print (Ctrl and P, or Cmd and P on a Mac). No sign-up, no email address.
Writing a service description
Say what it is, who it’s for and what the customer does next. Then cut any phrase that could describe any business.
- Too vague: “We offer quality catering solutions.”
- Better: “Catering for up to 40 people: sandwiches, salads and baking, delivered in town. Order by Wednesday for the weekend.”
Photos and permission
Use photos you took yourself, or ones the photographer has agreed, in writing, you can put on your website. Turning up in an image search doesn’t make a picture free to use. If you can recognise someone in a photo, ask them first. If it’s a child, ask a parent or guardian. Stock photo sites each have a licence, so read what yours allows.
A worked example
River Street Café doesn’t exist; we made it up for this guide. Here’s how its owner might fill in the checklist.
| Item | River Street Café (invented) |
|---|---|
| Name | River Street Café |
| One sentence | A small café by the river, open for breakfast and lunch, with everything baked on site. |
| Services | Breakfast and lunch. Catering for up to 40 people, ordered by Wednesday. Whole cakes to order, with two days’ notice. |
| Prices | The menu, with prices. Catering by quote: phone or email. |
| Contact details | Phone, email and street address. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 7am to 2pm. |
| One thing to do | Phone to order catering. |
| Logo | The original file from the sign-writer. |
| Photos | Six, taken by the owner. One shows a regular, who said yes. |
| Reviews | Two, from customers who agreed by email to be quoted by first name. |
| Common questions | Do you have gluten-free food? Can I bring my dog? Is there parking? |
| Web address | None yet. |
What this checklist doesn’t do
It’s for a small business website. A shop, a booking system or a website with lots of pages needs more: product details and policies, for a start. And your rights in photos and reviews depend on your situation, so treat this as general guidance, not legal advice.
If Kiteleo builds it
We ask about your business before we start, and build from your answers. Turn up with this list and that part is quick. Not sure how big your website should be? Read one-page or multi-page website: which do you need?
Next: what a free business website actually costs, or all guides.
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