What to prepare before building a website (checklist)
Everything to gather before a website project starts, so it launches on time.
The biggest cause of website delays isn’t design or code. It’s waiting for content. Gather these before the project starts and your site can launch weeks earlier.
About your business
- Business name, as you want it shown
- Logo, ideally as an SVG or a large PNG with a transparent background
- Brand colours, if you have them
- Contact details to show: email, phone, address, opening hours
- Social media links
Content
- A short description of what you do and who you do it for
- Your services or products, with a few lines each
- Answers to the questions customers ask most
- Reviews or testimonials, with permission to use names
Rough notes are fine. Pixel Maker tidies the wording in the Business and Catalogue packages.
Photos
- Your own photos beat stock photos every time: your team, premises, products and finished work.
- Landscape photos from a recent phone are fine. Avoid screenshots from chats, which are heavily compressed.
- For products: one clear photo per product on a plain background.
For product catalogues
One spreadsheet with a row per product and these columns:
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| Product code | CS-1024 |
| Name (one column per language) | Golden Peony 36 shots |
| Category | Cakes |
| Short description | 36-shot cake, gold peony effect |
| Photo file name | cs-1024.jpg |
Practical things
- Domain: do you already own one? If not, it’s included and free for the first year.
- Websites you like: two or three links, with what you like about each
- Decision maker: who approves the design and the final site
- Deadline: any launch date, event or season to work towards
Don’t have everything?
That’s normal. Start the conversation anyway. You’ll get a short list of what’s missing and what can be worked around.