New Website Checklist: Content to Gather Before You Start

The short version: the quality of your new website depends on the quality of what goes into it. Great words and real photos make a good design look brilliant; vague text and blurry images hold back even the best design. And the single biggest thing you can do to keep your project on time is to have your content gathered before the work starts.

That is not just our experience. Web design agencies consistently report that late content, meaning words, photos and approvals from the client, is the most common reason website projects run over time, far ahead of any technical problem. The good news is that it is also the one part of the project you control completely.

This checklist covers everything we will ask you for, plus a few things businesses often forget. Tick items off as you go: your ticks are saved in this browser, so you can come back to it.

Why getting content ready first matters

Design follows content. A page designed around your real headline, your real photos and the real length of your text fits perfectly. A page designed around placeholder text has to be reworked when the real content arrives.
Better content gets better results. Clear, specific words help customers decide to contact you, and they are what Google reads to work out which searches your site should appear for.
It saves time and money. Every week spent waiting for a missing page or photo is a week your new website is not working for you. Content that arrives in pieces also means more rounds of changes.
You know your business best. We can shape, edit and structure your content, but the knowledge, the stories and the photos of your work have to come from you.

1. Goals and customers

Start here, even before you write a word. These answers shape every decision that follows.

The main job of the website: more phone calls, enquiries, bookings or online sales
Who your customers are, and what they are looking for when they find you
What makes you different from your competitors, in a sentence or two
The questions customers ask you most often (these make excellent website content)
Two or three websites you like, and what you like about them
Two or three competitors’ websites
Any deadline that matters, such as a launch, an event or a busy season

2. Your brand

Your logo as an original file (SVG, AI, EPS or PDF) plus a PNG with a transparent background
Your brand colours, ideally as colour codes (for example #4B1B5F)
Your brand fonts, if you have them
Any brand guidelines from your designer
Your tagline or slogan, if you use one

No logo, or one that only exists as a low quality image? Tell us at the start: we can recreate it or work with a branding specialist.

3. The words for every page

Write for your customers, in the words they would use, not industry jargon. Specific beats general: “we fit kitchens across Waterford and Kilkenny within six weeks” says far more than “quality service at competitive prices”.

One page per service, rather than one page listing everything, gives each service its own chance to appear in Google searches.

4. Photos and video

Your own photos are almost always better than stock images, because they show customers who they will be dealing with.

Your team, ideally in natural, relaxed shots as well as headshots
Your premises, inside and out, if customers visit you
Your work: finished projects, products, before and after shots
Photos of you at work, which build more trust than any stock photo
Videos, as links to YouTube or Vimeo or as original files
Permission to use every photo, including ones taken by a photographer
For stock photos: the licence that allows business use

A few tips that make a big difference:

Send the original files, not photos copied into a Word document or sent through WhatsApp or social media, which shrink and compress them.
Bigger is better. We resize and optimise every image so your site stays fast, but we cannot add detail to a small photo. Images at least 2,000 pixels wide are ideal for large banners.
Shoot in landscape for banners and wide images, in good daylight, and keep the background tidy.
Never use images from a Google search. Most are protected by copyright, and using them can lead to a bill or a legal letter.

5. Business and legal details

Business name exactly as you want it shown
Phone number, email address and postal address
The areas you serve, if customers don’t come to you
Opening hours, including any seasonal changes
Links to your social media profiles and your Google Business Profile
Limited companies: your full company name and legal form, “Registered in Ireland” with your company number, and your registered office address. Irish company law requires these particulars, and they are commonly shown in the website footer.
Your VAT number, if you are VAT registered
A privacy policy that explains what personal data your website collects and why (we can set up the cookie notice)
Any certifications or insurance details you need to display for your trade

6. If you sell online

Online shops need the most preparation, so start these early.

A product spreadsheet: name, price, description, SKU or product code, sizes and colours, and weight for shipping
Product photos on a consistent background, from more than one angle
Your categories and how customers should browse them
Delivery areas, rates and times
Your returns and refunds policy. Consumers buying online in Ireland generally have a 14 day right to cancel, and the CCPC sets out the information you must give before they buy
Terms and conditions of sale
A payment provider account, such as Stripe or PayPal, in your business name
How VAT applies to your products

7. Logins and accounts

Missing logins are one of the most common reasons a launch gets delayed at the last minute.

Your domain name: which company it is registered with, and the login. Your domain should always be registered in your business’s name, not your web designer’s
Your current hosting login, if you have a website already
Your current website’s admin login
Who looks after your business email, so it keeps working when the website moves
Google Business Profile, Google Analytics and Google Search Console access, if you have them
Logins for anything the website connects to, such as booking, newsletter or accounting software

Share passwords securely, using a password manager or by phone, rather than in a plain email.

8. If you are replacing an existing website

Which pages you want to keep, update or drop
Which pages bring in the most visitors or enquiries (we can check this for you)
Blog posts or news items worth keeping
Anything about your current site that customers like, or complain about

We set up redirects from your old page addresses to the new ones, so you keep your Google rankings and nobody lands on a missing page.

9. Features and extras

Contact or quote request forms, and who should receive them
Online booking or appointments
Newsletter sign up, and which email service you use
Maps, live chat, downloadable brochures or price lists
Anything else the website needs to do for you

Accessibility matters too. Accessibility rules now apply to many businesses that sell to consumers online, and making your site usable for everyone is simply good business. Describing what each important photo shows helps us write good image descriptions for people using screen readers.

10. People and approvals

One person who gathers feedback and makes final decisions
Anyone else who needs to approve the website before it goes live
Time in your diary for reviews, as each review round usually needs a few days of your attention
Any dates you will be away during the project

Collecting everyone’s feedback into one list, rather than several separate emails, makes each round of changes quicker and avoids contradictions.

How to send it all to us

One shared folder (Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive), with a folder for each page.
One document per page for the words, named to match the page.
Original photo files in a folder of their own, with file names that say what they show.
Everything at once, if you can. A complete set lets us design the whole site properly the first time.

Short on time, words or photos?

You don’t have to do it all yourself. Our Business package includes help preparing your content, and for photography, copywriting or branding we bring in trusted specialists from our network, so it all still comes through one point of contact. The important thing is to tell us at the start what you can provide and what you need help with, so it is planned in from day one.

Ready to get started? Build your quote or get in touch and we will talk you through what your project needs.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to gather content for a new website?

For most small business websites, allow two to four weeks if you are writing the words yourself, and longer if you need new photos taken. Start as soon as you decide to get a website, not when the designer asks for it. The project can only move as fast as the content arrives.

Can you start designing before all my content is ready?

We can start planning the structure and the look, but the design is only truly finished when it is built around your real words and photos. Placeholder text hides problems, such as a headline that is twice as long as expected or a gallery with too few photos, and they surface late, when changes take longest.

Can I use AI to write my website content?

AI is a useful way to get a first draft started, but it does not know your business, your customers or what makes you different. Treat anything it writes as a rough draft, then add your own experience, examples and way of speaking, and check every fact.

Do I really need professional photos?

Not always, but real photos of your team, your premises and your work almost always do better than stock images, because they show customers who they will be dealing with. A modern phone in good light can take perfectly usable photos. For the main images on your home page, a professional photographer is usually worth it.

What if I can't provide everything on the list?

Tell us early. Not every business needs every item, and gaps are easy to plan around at the start. We can also bring in a copywriter or photographer from our network, so you still get the complete package with one point of contact.

Your new website checklist: what to gather before the project starts