Getting started
Website content checklist — what a site actually needs to sell the business properly.
Design can only do so much. The content — the words, the proof, the photography — is what actually convinces someone to get in touch. Here's what to gather before the build.
The full list
Five groups of content worth gathering.
Written content
- Proposition — what you do and why someone should choose you
- Services — described specifically, not generically
- About — the story and people behind the business
- Process — how working with you actually happens, step by step
- FAQs — real questions customers actually ask
- Pricing, where appropriate — even a starting figure or range
- Contact information — every way a customer might want to reach you
- Legal and policy information — terms, privacy, any required disclosures
Proof
- Testimonials — in the customer's own words where possible
- Reviews — from Google, Trustpilot or similar platforms
- Case studies — a specific problem solved for a specific client
- Genuine qualifications — anything formally accredited or certified
- Accreditations — trade bodies, industry memberships
- Project evidence — before/after or completed work
- Client logos, where permission exists — recognisable names help credibility
Visual content
- Founder or team photography — real people, not stock
- Project photographs — actual completed work
- Product photography — clear, well-lit, consistent
- Premises — where relevant, to build trust in the physical business
- Process — photos showing how work actually gets done
- Before/after imagery — where it applies to the service
Business information
- Services offered — the full, accurate list
- Service areas — where you actually operate
- Opening hours — kept current, especially around holidays
- Phone number — checked and working
- Email address — monitored regularly
- Company information — registration details, address, where required
SEO inputs
- Genuine services — the real list, not an aspirational one
- Genuine areas — where you can realistically deliver work
- Common customer questions — the ones you're asked again and again
- The terminology customers actually use — not internal industry jargon
Prioritising
What if you don't have everything yet?
Almost nobody starts a project with everything ready. Here's a rough split between what genuinely needs to be in place before launch and what can sensibly follow.
| What's needed | When |
|---|---|
| Core service pages and pricing approach | Foundational — needed before launch |
| Contact details and business information | Foundational — needed before launch |
| At least a handful of genuine testimonials or reviews | Foundational — needed before launch |
| Founder or team photography | Foundational — needed before launch |
| Full case studies with detail and results | Can sensibly follow later |
| Complete photo library across every service | Can sensibly follow later |
| Extended FAQ coverage | Can sensibly follow later |
| Video content | Can sensibly follow later |
If writing isn't your thing, see website copywriting for small business. For photography, see our photography guide. This sits alongside the wider website project checklist, and if you're unsure what a designer needs from you personally, see what a web designer needs from you.
Before you ask
Content checklist questions, answered plainly.
Next step
Not sure what you've actually got?
We can help you work it out.
Send over what you have — even if it's incomplete — and we'll tell you honestly what's missing and what can wait.