Get ready for your new website.
Planning a website? This free checklist shows what to gather first: your basics, photos, words, and accounts. The more you have ready, the sooner your site goes live.
You don't need everything before we talk. Bring what you have.
Your business basics
The facts that show up across your whole site.
- Your business name, exactly as it should appear
- What you do, in one sentence, the way you would tell a new neighbor
- Your services or products, with a short description of each
- Who you serve, and the towns or areas you cover
- Phone, email, address, and business hours
- Your logo, the best version you have. No logo yet? Ask me about Brand Essentials.
Your photos
Real photos build more trust than stock photos, and phone photos work well.
- You and your team: a friendly headshot and one of you at work
- Your place: storefront, studio, office, or where you work
- 5 to 10 examples of your best work or products
- One wide, bright photo for the top of your home page
- Customer photos only with their written permission
Tip: Shoot in daylight, hold your phone sideways, and send the original files, not screenshots.
Your words
Write like you talk. Notes and voice memos are fine. I polish them into finished pages.
- Home: what you do, who it’s for, and what visitors should do next
- About: why you started and what makes you different
- Each service: what it is, who it’s for, and the price if you share it
- 5 to 8 questions customers often ask you, with your answers
- 3 to 5 customer reviews you have permission to use
Tip: Stuck? Record a two-minute voice memo answering “What do you do, and who do you do it for?”
Your domain and accounts
Everything stays in your name, from the start.
- Your domain (like yourbusiness.com), registered in your name. No domain yet? I can help you pick one.
- A working login to your domain account, tested now so it doesn’t hold up launch
- Your current website and email, if you have them, so nothing breaks when the new site goes live
- Any booking, newsletter, payment, or donation tools you use or want
Tip: Never send passwords by email or text. When access is needed, you add me as a user from your own account.
Your style and goals
No design terms needed. Your honest reactions help most.
- 3 websites you like, from any industry, and what you like about each
- 1 or 2 websites you don’t like, and why
- 3 words for how your site should feel, like warm, calm, and trustworthy
- The one thing visitors should do: call, book, visit, buy, donate, or get in touch
Have some of it? That's enough to start.
On a free 30-minute call, we look at what you have and which package fits. I polish your words and draft anything missing.
Before you reach out.
Do I need everything on this list before we talk?
No. Bring whatever you have to a free call. Rough notes and phone photos are a fine start, and I polish your words and draft anything missing for your approval.
What happens after I hire you?
You get a full kickoff checklist and a shared folder in your own Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive for your files. Then we move through Discovery, Content & Review, Build & Preview, and Launch.