Websites · Planning
What to Send Your Web Designer Before a Small Business Website Build
Gather the business details, content, images, and access decisions that keep a website project moving without an endless email chain.
Before a website build, give your designer a clear description of the business, the action you want visitors to take, accurate service information, approved assets, and one person responsible for decisions. You do not need to write a perfect website yourself. You do need to supply the facts that make it yours.
A simple shared folder and a short brief can prevent the project from stalling while everyone searches old messages for a logo or an updated price.
Start with one business goal
Write a sentence describing what the site needs to accomplish. Examples include helping homeowners request an estimate, showing a café’s menu and locations, or explaining a service before a consultation. Choose the primary action before choosing animations or layouts.
Add the audience and the questions they usually ask. Real customer language gives your designer a better starting point than a list of competitor websites with no explanation of what you like about them.
Gather the facts for each page
Provide your business name, service area, contact information, hours where relevant, and the services you want to promote. Include any qualifications or claims you intend to make, along with information needed to verify them.
For each service, explain what it includes, who it suits, what affects the scope, and how an inquiry should be handled. Flag anything that is still undecided. A visible “needs confirmation” note in the brief is better than an assumption that accidentally becomes public copy.
Choose images you can actually use
Send original image files where possible rather than screenshots from a social feed. Include the logo files you have, preferred colors, and any existing brand guidance. Identify which photos are approved for public use.
Do not assume that a photo found online is available for your business website. Likewise, make sure client work, customer testimonials, and recognizable people can be used in the way you intend. If the site will use illustrative concepts, label them honestly.
Plan account access without sending passwords around
Identify who controls the domain, website hosting, business email, and any booking or payment tools. Use the service’s supported invitation or delegated-access process where available. Keep ownership with the business and grant only the access needed for the project.
Never put passwords, recovery codes, or API keys in a general content document. Decide how access will be removed or reduced after launch. If nobody knows who owns the domain, resolve that early rather than discovering it during launch week.
Agree on reviews and launch checks
Choose one approval contact who can gather feedback from the rest of the team. Consolidated feedback is easier to act on than several people requesting conflicting changes in separate messages.
Before launch, review the site on a phone. Submit the contact form, check where the message arrives, test important links, and confirm prices and contact details. A polished preview is not a substitute for testing the action you want customers to take.
Your short handoff checklist
- Business goal and intended audience.
- Accurate services, contact details, and service area.
- Approved logo, photos, and supporting copy.
- List of existing accounts and their owners.
- One approval contact and a feedback process.
- A launch checklist for forms, links, and mobile use.
Royal Studios builds websites from St. George, Utah, with scope agreed before work starts. Explore website services, review current pricing, or send the rough idea if you need help deciding what belongs in the brief.
