The biggest source of delay in any website project is not the designer. It is waiting on the client to supply what is needed to actually build the thing. Get your side of it sorted before you start and your site will be live significantly faster.
Here is everything worth having ready before you submit a brief or approach a designer.
Your business basics, written down clearly
You know your business inside out, but a designer is starting from scratch. The clearer you can describe what you do and who you do it for, the better the result.
Write down the answers to these before you start:
- What does your business do in one sentence?
- Who are your ideal clients? Be specific. Not "small businesses" but "female founders in the health space" or "tradies who need to look more professional online."
- What problem do you solve for them?
- What makes you different from others who do something similar?
- What do you want visitors to do when they land on your site? Book a call, fill in a contact form, buy a product?
A designer can make your site look beautiful. Only you can tell them what it needs to say.
Your visual direction, even roughly
You do not need to arrive with a complete brand identity. But having some sense of the look and feel you want saves a lot of back-and-forth.
- Save three to five websites you like the look of. They do not have to be in your industry. What matters is that the aesthetic feels right for your brand.
- Collect images that represent the mood or vibe you want. Pinterest or Instagram saves work fine for this.
- Note any colours that feel right or wrong. Even saying "not pastel, something bolder" is useful information.
- If you have an existing logo or brand colours, have the files ready in a high resolution format.
Your photos, or a decision about them
This is the most common bottleneck in website projects. A designer cannot build a great site around placeholder images, and stock photography makes sites look generic.
You have a few options:
- Provide your own photos taken with a decent phone or a professional camera
- Have custom images generated to match your brand (Built By Her offers this as an add-on)
- Commission a brand photography shoot before the build starts
Whatever you choose, decide before you start. Waiting on photos after the brief is submitted is the single biggest cause of delayed launches.
The pages you need, and what goes on each one
Most small business websites need the same core pages. Work through this list and decide what applies to you.
Your domain name, or a decision on it
Your domain is your web address, something like yourbusinessname.com. If you do not have one yet, purchase it before or immediately after you submit your brief. Namecheap and Squarespace Domains are both fine options for purchasing. GoDaddy works but upsells aggressively.
Stick with .com if it is available. For Australian businesses, .com.au is also worth having if you can. Avoid long or hyphenated domains if possible.
Any copy you already have, or honesty about needing it written
If you have existing copy from a previous site, social bio, or business description, share it. Even if it is rough, it gives the designer something to work with or build on.
If you do not have copy and writing is not something you want to do yourself, flag this upfront. Built By Her offers copywriting as an add-on. Having copy sorted before the build starts is always faster than trying to add it after.
The short version
Prepared clients get better sites faster. You do not need to have everything perfect, but arriving with your basics sorted, a sense of the look you want, and your photos resolved means your designer can move immediately instead of waiting on you to answer questions that should have been answered before the project started.