If you are thinking about having a website designed, it is time to make sure that all of your content is ready to go. Giving your website designer all of your content before they start will help to focus the project on the areas that should be prioritized and minimize unnecessary design edits.
Content gathering determines how long it will take to get a website completed and is the main reason that we see our client's website launches being delayed. It can feel like a lot to come up with all that is needed to market your brand online, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. Less is more and keeping things simple will go a long way. We have created a list to help in focusing your efforts on the most important content to collect for the initial draft of your website. The draft will determine what else is still needed to complete the project.
We recommend uploading content to a Google Drive to centralize the information. This will make it easy to refer to. Pictures can be uploaded individually into the Drive and Word documents can be shared to communicate any written content for the site. Ready, set, go.
About Description
Briefly summarize 1-2 paragraphs about your company and/or yourself. Provide any important background information that you want to share to let people know who is behind the brand. Summarize your services, why you are here, and who you serve.
List of Products/Services
Provide a list of products and services with any relevant titles, descriptions, and pricing. A bullet list of benefits can be a nice way to summarize what you do.
Photos
Horizontal images work well on websites because they can be stretched as banner images. This should be a .jpg or .png file. Pictures are able to be loaded individually to the Google Drive. Best practices to avoid poor resolution include avoiding use of screenshots, photos saved down from social media, and cropped photos. A picture of yourself can help make the site feel more personable. Wix provides use of free stock images that can be used to fill in where needed.
Social Media Links
Open any new social media accounts for the brand that you want to link to the website.
Contact Information
Determining how you want your leads to engage with you will determine how the site is laid out and what content is prioritized. Are you looking for people to book your services? Shop your products? Confirm how you want people to get in contact with you. Phone? E-mail? In-Person?
.png Logo with a Transparent Background
Provide colored, and black and white versions of your logo as well as any other style variations. .png versions with transparent backgrounds are the best to use because they allow for the most versatility on the site.
Inspiration
Any websites of competitors or other design inspiration that you want to share can help to convey your vision. Share color schemes, style preferences, and any ideas that you have for the direction of your brand. A Pinterest page can be shared to help interpret your vision.
Keywords for SEO
Provide 3-5 keywords that you would like to try and rank for, things like your company name, terms of your industry, and location should be considered. See how your competitors are titling themselves and search for your keywords in Google to find out what types of businesses are populating for the words that you want to use.
Legalities
Provide any policies and disclosures that you need on your website. Some common policies include but are not limited to having a Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Shipping Policy, Return Policy, Accessibility Statement, and potential federal or state requirements.
Schedule your free small business consultation if we can help you to design your business website.
