How to prepare text, photographs and branding for a new business website
A website project moves faster when the business information is complete before design begins. Missing opening hours, uncertain prices and low-quality photographs create more delay than most technical work. Preparation also improves the final result because the designer can build around real content instead of placeholders.
- official business name and contact details;
- logo and brand files;
- main services or products;
- original photographs;
- customer questions and proof;
- domain and account access;
- one person responsible for approvals.
Start with the action visitors should take
Decide whether the website should generate calls, quotation requests, appointments, visits or online purchases. This determines which information must appear early. A restaurant needs menu, hours, location and reservations. A trades business needs service areas, examples, trust and an enquiry route. An online shop needs clear product information, delivery terms and payment confidence.
Trying to make every action equally important weakens the page. Choose one primary action and one secondary alternative, such as “Request a quote” and “Call us”.
Collect the official business details
Prepare the exact business name, address, telephone number, email, opening hours and service areas. Check that these details match important listings. If customers visit a physical location, include accessibility, parking or public-transport information where useful.
Do not invent an address to target another city. Accurate information builds trust and avoids conflicts between the website and local search profiles.
Organise services around customer questions
For each main service, write a simple working document covering who it is for, the problem it solves, what is included, the process, price factors and the next step. The first version does not need polished marketing language. Accurate raw information is more valuable to a designer or copywriter than a collection of slogans.
Avoid copying competitors. Their scope, legal position and customers may be different. Original explanations help potential buyers understand the business and create stronger material for search engines.
Choose photographs that prove something
Useful photographs show the premises, people, products, process or completed work. A small set of genuine images often creates more trust than a large collection of generic stock photographs. Capture wide horizontal images for banners and vertical images for social media, while leaving some space around the subject for cropping.
- Use the original camera files rather than screenshots from social media.
- Clean the lens and use natural light when possible.
- Avoid placing important details at the extreme edge.
- Confirm permission before publishing identifiable customers or private locations.
- Name files by subject instead of leaving camera numbers.
Provide usable logo and brand files
A vector logo in SVG, EPS or PDF format remains sharp at different sizes. A high-resolution transparent PNG is useful when a vector file is unavailable. Provide light and dark versions if they exist. Include confirmed colours, typefaces and any brand rules, but tell the designer which elements may be modernised.
A tiny logo copied from a messaging app cannot produce a clean header. If the original files are lost, allow time for careful recreation before the website layout is approved.
Gather trust and legal information
Collect genuine testimonials, qualifications, memberships, warranties, delivery information and relevant project examples. Record the source and permission for testimonials. Prepare the registered business details and policies needed for the type of website. Ecommerce, booking and newsletter features may require additional terms and privacy information.
Legal templates are not a substitute for advice appropriate to the business and country. The web designer can place supplied policies but should not be assumed to provide legal approval.
Secure domain and account access
Find the domain registrar, hosting account, business email administration, analytics and Google Business Profile before launch week. Confirm who owns each account and whether the recovery email still works. Share access through invitations or a password manager rather than sending passwords in ordinary messages.
Do not transfer a domain or change DNS without identifying connected email services. A website migration can accidentally interrupt email when records are replaced without an audit.
Create a simple approval process
Select one person to collect internal feedback and approve each stage. Conflicting comments from several people slow the project and can produce an inconsistent design. Agree on the number of revision rounds, what counts as a revision and what requires a new quotation.
Review content for factual accuracy before focusing on small visual preferences. Check names, prices, contact actions and forms on both mobile and desktop.
Final pre-project checklist
- Primary website goal agreed.
- Page and service list prepared.
- Business details verified.
- Logo and original photographs collected.
- Testimonials and permissions recorded.
- Domain, email and account ownership confirmed.
- Policies and required legal information supplied.
- Approver and launch date identified.
Next, review what a website price should include, read the hosting comparison, or try the interactive examples.