You have decided it is time for a new website. Maybe your current site is showing its age. Maybe your business has changed and the website no longer represents what you do. Or maybe you have been putting off building a website because the whole process feels a little overwhelming.
Then comes the next question.
What does your web designer actually need from you to get started?
The good news is that you do not need to arrive at Traverse Web with a perfectly organized folder containing every photo, password, paragraph, and color code your business has ever used.
We can help you sort through it.
But there are several things that make a website project easier and help us understand your business, your goals, and what you want your new website to accomplish.
Here is what you should start gathering.
Tell Us About Your Business and Your Goals
Before we start talking about colors, photos, menus, or home page layouts, we need to understand your business.
What do you do?
Who are your customers?
What are your most important products or services?
What do you want someone to do after visiting your website?
That last question is especially important.
Maybe you want visitors to call your business. Perhaps you want them to request a quote, make a reservation, schedule an appointment, buy a product, join an email list, or simply understand what you offer.
If you already have a website, tell us what is not working.
Maybe customers have trouble finding important information. Maybe you cannot easily update the site. Perhaps your business has grown but your website has not grown with it.
You do not need to know how to fix those problems. That is part of our job.
You just need to tell us what is happening.
Your Logo and Branding
If you already have a logo, send us the best version you have.
Ideally, that means a high quality logo file along with any alternate versions of the logo. If you have specific business colors, fonts, or brand guidelines, send those too.
But what if you do not have any of that?
Do not panic.
We have worked with plenty of businesses that have a logo but no idea what font was used. Others know they use a particular shade of blue but have never heard of a HEX color code.
That is okay.
Send us what you have.
Old brochures, business cards, signs, menus, advertisements, and other marketing materials can all help us understand the existing look of your business.
Your Website Content
One of the biggest pieces of a website project is the content.
In web design, you may hear this called website copy. That is simply the written information on your website.
Depending on your business, this could include:
- Information about your company
- Your products or services
- Staff or team information
- Frequently asked questions
- Testimonials and customer reviews
- Pricing information
- Policies
- Hours and contact information
- Service areas
- Your company history
You know your business better than anyone else. The information you give us helps Traverse Web turn that knowledge into a website that makes sense to your customers.
And your content does not necessarily have to arrive perfectly written.
If you have brochures, PDFs, service sheets, existing website content, notes, or other material that explains your business, send it along. Sometimes there is plenty of good information already available. It simply needs to be organized for the new website.
Photos, Videos, and Other Media
Good photos can make a tremendous difference on a website.
If you have original photos, start gathering them in one place.
Depending on your business, that might include:
- Photos of your team
- Your building or office
- Products
- Completed projects
- Equipment
- Your staff at work
- Before and after photos
- Events
- Videos
- Branded graphics
Send the highest quality originals you have whenever possible.
We would much rather receive a large original photo and prepare it properly for the website than try to work with a tiny image that was downloaded from Facebook years ago.
Also, please do not grab photos from Google and assume we can use them. Images generally need to belong to you or be properly licensed for use on your website.
If you do not have enough photos, tell us. We can talk about the options rather than forcing images onto the site that do not represent your business well.
Show Us Websites You Like
You do not need to know web design terminology to tell us what you like.
In fact, examples can be much more useful.
Find a few websites you like and send them to us. They do not even need to be websites in your industry.
Tell us why you like them.
Maybe you like how clean one website looks. You might like the way another displays its services. Perhaps you love how easy it is to find the phone number on another.
Those details help.
It is also helpful to show us websites you do not like.
You might say:
“This feels too busy.”
“I do not like how dark this website is.”
“I cannot figure out where anything is.”
“This feels too corporate for our business.”
That information gives us direction.
We are not looking to copy another company’s website. We are trying to understand what feels right for your business.
Tell Us What Your Website Needs to Do
Think about what your customers should actually be able to do on your website.
Do you need a simple contact form?
Online scheduling?
A photo gallery?
Online ordering?
A blog?
An email newsletter signup?
Online payments?
A connection to another service your business already uses?
Knowing these things at the beginning helps us plan the website correctly.
It is also perfectly fine if you are unsure whether you need something.
Part of our job at Traverse Web is helping you separate the features that would actually benefit your business from the ones that simply sound interesting.
Sometimes a straightforward website with excellent information and an easy way to contact you is far more useful than a complicated website filled with features nobody uses.
Domain, Hosting, and Account Information
This is usually the part where nontechnical business owners start wondering whether they should have studied computer science before calling us.
You do not need to.
If you already have a website, we may need access to things such as your domain name, hosting account, existing website, email setup, analytics, or other services connected to your site.
If you use outside services, we may also need information about them.
For example, your website might connect to a scheduling service, payment processor, email marketing account, social media account, customer management system, or another online service.
Sometimes we need a username and password. Sometimes we only need a link or a particular account setting.
And sometimes a client has absolutely no idea where their domain is registered or who hosts their current website.
That happens more often than you might think.
Tell us what you know, and we can help determine what we actually need.
A Quick Word About Passwords
Website projects sometimes require access to important business accounts, so password security matters.
Do not send every business password you have just because you think we might need it.
Traverse Web will tell you which accounts we need access to and why we need them. If temporary access can be created, that may be preferable. Passwords can also be changed when the work is finished when appropriate.
You should always understand what access your web designer has to your business accounts.
Know Your Budget
Talking about money can be uncomfortable, but having a realistic budget makes the website planning process much easier.
A budget helps determine what can reasonably be included in the project.
It also allows us to have a straightforward conversation about priorities. If everything on the wish list does not fit the budget, we can identify what matters most now and what could potentially be added later.
At Traverse Web, we do not look at your budget and think, “How much of this can we spend?”
We determine what the project requires and quote the work accordingly.
And there is something important we want clients to know about our quotes.
If we quote your website project and the work takes more time than we anticipated, we honor our quote.
You should not have to worry about receiving an unexpected bill because something took us longer than we thought it would.
The reverse is also true.
If we quote a project and it ends up requiring less work than anticipated, we frequently charge the client less.
We believe that is simply a fair way to do business.
A quote should give you confidence about what you are spending, not leave you wondering what the final bill will look like.
Let Us Know About Your Timeline
If you need your website completed by a particular date, tell us as early as possible.
Maybe you have a grand opening coming up. Perhaps your busy season starts in two months. You may be launching a new product or attending an event where you want people visiting the new site.
Knowing those dates helps us plan.
It is also important to remember that we will need your participation during the project.
There will be questions to answer, content to review, designs to approve, and information we may need along the way.
You do not need to be available every minute of every day, but timely communication helps keep the project moving.
Tell Us Who Makes the Decisions
If several people are involved in approving the new website, it helps to establish that at the beginning.
Does your business partner need to approve the design?
Does a manager need to review the content?
Is there a board or committee involved?
Ideally, one person should serve as the main contact and gather feedback from everyone else.
That prevents a situation where a website is nearly finished and someone who has not been involved suddenly sees it for the first time and wants to head in a completely different direction.
Getting the right people involved early saves everyone time and money.
You Do Not Need to Have Everything Figured Out
After reading this list, you might be thinking:
“I have my logo, some photos, and I think I know my domain password. That is about it.”
That is enough to start a conversation.
Seriously.
You are hiring a web designer because building websites is not what you do every day.
It is what we do every day.
Traverse Web does not expect you to walk through the door knowing what hosting you have, which website platform you need, how your domain settings work, or whether you need a particular feature.
We will ask questions.
We will explain things.
And if something does not make sense, ask us.
We would rather spend a few minutes explaining something clearly than have a client agree to something they do not understand.
A Little Preparation Goes a Long Way
The more information we have about your business, the better we can understand what your website needs to accomplish.
So before starting your project, gather what you can.
Find your logo. Collect some photos. Think about your customers. Make a list of your services. Bookmark a few websites you like. Dig up your domain information if you have it. Think about your budget and what you want the website to accomplish.
But do not let an incomplete checklist keep you from getting started.
Bring us what you have. Traverse Web will help you figure out the rest.
Our Goal is Simple
We want your website to be a reliable tool that supports your business long term, not something you have to constantly troubleshoot or worry about.
If you would like help designing, building, hosting, or improving your website, we are here to help.