Building a small business website is the fast part. Waiting on words and photos is what usually holds a job up. If you gather the list below before the build starts, you take weeks off it.
The checklist
Your logo, as the original file. Ask whoever made it for the original artwork. A small picture copied off your old site will look fuzzy the moment it is made bigger. If the original is gone, say so early. It can be rebuilt, but that has to happen first.
Photos. Your work, your premises, your team, you. Real photos of your business beat stock photos every time, even if they were taken on a phone. Send more than you think you need and let the builder choose.
What you do, as a list. Every service or product group, with one or two plain sentences on each. Write it the way you would explain it to a customer on the phone.
Prices, or how pricing works. Even "from $90" or "free quote within a day" is better than nothing. People leave sites that give no idea of cost.
Contact details and hours. Phone, email, address or the areas you cover, and opening hours. Check they match what your Google listing says.
Reviews. Three to six of your best, with first names. If they are on Google already, just say so.
Logins. Your domain account, your current website, and your Google Business listing. If you do not know them, that is normal, and here is how to track them down.
Anything that has to keep working. Online bookings, a shop, a newsletter sign up, a members area. Tell the builder on day one.
What you can stop worrying about
- Perfect wording. Send rough notes. Turning notes into clean copy is part of the job.
- Design ideas. It helps to send one or two websites you like and say why. You do not need a plan.
- Technical choices. You should not have to pick hosting or software. You should be told what was chosen and why, in plain English.
The one thing to decide first
What do you want a visitor to do? Ring you, book online, fill in a form, or walk in the door. Pick one. A site built around a single clear action works better than one that asks for all four.
How long it then takes
Once your content arrives, most of our sites are live within about two weeks. The first version takes a few days, then you review it and we make your changes, then it goes live after your final approval.
The clock starts when the content lands, not the day you say yes. That is why this list matters. If you are still working out whether you need a build at all, start with refresh or rebuild.