What You'll Need Before We Start: Content, Brand Assets, and Goals

The fastest way to slow down a website project is to start without the right materials. You don't need everything perfect on day one, but having a clear picture of what's needed helps you prepare, and helps your designer move efficiently from the start.

Your Business Goals, Written Down

Before we talk about colors or layouts, the most important thing you can bring is clarity on what your website needs to do. Not what it should look like, but what it should accomplish. Are you trying to generate leads? Book appointments? Sell products? Build authority in your industry?

Write down two or three specific goals. They don't need to be fancy. "Get more phone calls from local homeowners" is a perfectly good goal. These objectives drive every design and content decision throughout the project.

Brand Assets You Already Have

If you already have a logo, brand colors, and fonts, great. Send us the original files (vector formats like .ai, .eps, or .svg are ideal). If you have a brand style guide, even better. These assets ensure your website feels like an extension of your existing identity rather than a disconnected experience.

Don't have any of these? That's okay too. Many clients come to us needing both a website and logo together. We can build your visual identity from scratch as part of the project, or handle the brand work first and then move into the site.

Website Copy and Content

Content is the single biggest factor in project timelines. If your copy is ready when development begins, the project moves fast. If it's not, everything waits, and waiting is expensive.

At minimum, you should have drafts for your homepage, about page, services or product descriptions, and contact information. If you have testimonials, case studies, or team bios, gather those too. They add credibility and give visitors reasons to trust you.

Not a writer? You can hire a copywriter, use our content guidance templates, or simply write rough drafts that we'll help refine. The important thing is having something to work with, not perfection.

Photography and Visual Assets

Strong photography makes a dramatic difference in how professional your site feels. Original photos of your team, workspace, products, or completed projects always outperform generic stock images. If you can invest in a professional photoshoot before the project starts, it's worth it.

If original photography isn't possible right away, we can work with carefully selected stock imagery as a starting point. But plan to replace it with real photos as soon as you can. Visitors notice the difference.

Examples of Sites You Like (and Don't)

Sharing examples is one of the most helpful things you can do. Find 3 to 5 websites that appeal to you and note what you like about each one. Is it the layout? The color palette? The way content is organized? Be specific: "I like this site" is less useful than "I like how this site uses large images with short text blocks."

Equally valuable: sharing sites you don't like. Knowing what to avoid saves revision cycles and helps us hit the right tone faster. Our build process walkthrough explains how these references feed into the discovery phase.

Technical Details and Access

If you already have a domain name, hosting account, or existing website, have your login credentials ready. We'll need access to your domain registrar for DNS changes at launch, and access to any existing hosting if we're migrating content.

If you don't have a domain yet, we can help you choose and register one. Same with hosting: we'll recommend the right setup based on your site's needs and expected traffic.

A Realistic Budget Range

You don't need to know exactly what a website costs before reaching out. But having a general range in mind helps us recommend the right approach. A $2,000 budget and a $15,000 budget lead to very different solutions, and both can be good solutions, depending on what you need.

If you're unsure about pricing, reach out and I'll give you a clear starting point. We're always transparent about what's included and what costs extra.

You Don't Need Everything Perfect

The goal of preparation isn't perfection. It's momentum. The more you bring to the table on day one, the faster we move and the fewer delays you'll experience. But if you're missing a few things, that's completely normal. We'll help you fill in the gaps as we go.