What to prepare before commissioning a website

Write your main goal in one sentence

Before you commission a website, decide what a visitor should do: call you, book a consultation, buy a product, review your work or understand your services. If you have several goals, choose a primary one. It will guide the homepage structure, button placement, content and technical features.

“I want customers to understand my services and contact me for advice” is more useful than “I want a professional website.” Professional results come from clear decisions rather than a vague label.

Describe the people you want to reach

Your website is designed for your customers. Note their location, needs, familiarity with your service and the questions that hold them back. A clinic’s customers may need a clear address, practitioner credentials, answers to common questions and easy booking more than an unusual visual style.

Ask what customers usually hesitate about before buying or getting in touch. Your website’s content should help answer that question.

Gather your initial content

The copy does not have to be perfect before the first conversation, but the basic information should be ready: a short introduction, your services, genuine advantages, contact details, opening hours and suitable photographs. For an online store, prepare the first 10–20 products with names, prices, descriptions, specifications and clear images.

• Your logo and usable brand files
• Your three main services or product categories
• Real project examples, customer feedback or other verifiable evidence
• Your phone number, email, address and relevant social profiles
• Questions customers often ask before purchasing

Separate essentials from future features

Booking, payments, customer accounts, search, multiple languages and connections to other systems each add their own requirements. Agree which features the first release needs and which can follow later. This keeps the initial project manageable and lets you start learning from real customers sooner.

Plan a realistic budget and timetable

The design fee is only part of the cost. Domain registration, hosting, copywriting, photography, maintenance and future development also need consideration. Delivery depends on how quickly content arrives and decisions are approved. If photographs or feedback take several weeks, the project schedule needs to change too.

Choose a few useful references

Share two or three websites whose structure or atmosphere you like and explain the specific reasons. Examples you dislike are helpful too. References turn your preferences into decisions the designer can act on; the aim is to understand your expectations, not to copy another business.