What to prepare before you order a website

The timeframe I put in the contract doesn’t start when you sign. It starts on the day I receive your text and your photos.

That’s not a trick. Without them, I simply can’t build anything. And that’s almost always where projects fall behind – not on the technical side.

Here’s what you’ll need to gather. There’s nothing complicated, but I need every item.

Your text

What you do, who you do it for, and how long you’ve been doing it. Your services, with prices if you display them. Your opening hours.

Don’t try to write beautifully. Write the way you’d talk to a customer in your shop. I’ll take care of the presentation, and I’ll tell you if anything’s missing.

Your photos

Real ones. Your workshop, your work, yourself.

A photo taken on your phone in good light is worth more than a bought image of a salon that isn’t yours. Visitors pick up on that straight away.

Allow for around ten pictures. Send them just as they come off your phone or camera, without shrinking them: I’ll get them ready.

Your logo

In its best quality, not a copy saved from Facebook. If you have the original file from your designer, that’s the one I need.

If you don’t have a logo, just say so. We’ll do without, and the site will be no worse for it.

Your opening hours and contact details

I need your exact address, your phone number and your email address, plus the days you’re closed. It sounds obvious, yet it’s what people forget most often.

Access to your domain name

If you already have one, I’ll need the login details. If you don’t, I’ll sort it out – and it’ll be registered in your name, not mine.

Don’t have everything?

Send what you’ve got. We’ll make a start and fill in the gaps as we go.

This list isn’t here to hold you up before we begin. It’s here to spare you the month of drifting that happens when everything turns up bit by bit.