Checklist: What To Have Ready For Your Web Design Before You Begin
Imagine this: you’ve got a great small business and you know it’s time to upgrade your web presence to something that reflects the general awesomeness of what you’ve got to offer.
The downside is that website are…well…a lot. Especially when technical things aren’t your jam, and especially when you’ve got about a thousand other things you’d rather be doing.
And since your time is a hot commodity and you’d love to check this massive job off of your to-do list, you’ve decided to take the leap and hire a web designer. YAY YOU!
A good web designer can take a lot off of your plate: the set up, the big picture design, the small technical details, the weeks (months? years?) of Googling “how to” articles…and they seamlessly turn your business into an online presence with ease and efficiency and effictiveness.
That sounds pretty great when you’re already filled to the brim with, let’s say, actually running your business.
BUT. Even though web designers take 98% of the website-building burden off of your shoulders, there is still that 2% they need from you!
To save you from the mystery of what that 2% might be, I wanted to pass along the basics of what every designer is going to ask you for — every web designer is different of course, but the majority of us are usually similar in what we need from our clients before we dive in.
So consider this your checklist — that way, once you officially hire your designer (or even if you’re attempting a DIY site right now), you’ll be ready to gather this info and hit the ground running!
Your Website Copy
What is a website for your business without information on your business?!
You may hear website designers refer to your “website copy” and what this means is: your text. Your story for the “About Us” page, written information on your services or products, any descriptions to with portfolio pieces, etc.
Sure, we use our discretion at times to decide what text should go where, but we need YOU to provide the text! You know your business best so you’re typically the best at describing it.
Not sure where to start? Consider pulling together (i.e. writing) the following:
Your “mission statement” (1-2 sentences) and your elevator pitch (4-5 sentences). (i.e. short, sweet, to-the-point info on your industry, your target demographic, how you help, the value you provide, how you strive to make your clients/customers feel, etc.)
Your list of services or products (a basic list and a list with short descriptions of each service/product)
Your “about us” story (i.e. if people click on your “about us” page, what do you want them to know? How you got started? Why you do what you do? How you want to help them? What info do YOU find valuable when you go to other business’ “about” pages? Start there!
Writing not one of your Top 3 life skills? Totally okay. There are ways to make writing your copy easier, or you can either:
Find a copywriter — yep, that’s a profession designed to make your life easier, too. Plus most web designers work closely with one or more copywriter(s) through the course of their work, so yours will like have referrals and recommendations for you!
See if your designer has any resources to help with planning your site content. If you’re like me, sometimes all you need is a little nudge or a basic outline and you can take it from there. I have a Website Roadmap Guide I give to all of my clients when they sign on to help them gather their thoughts on what pages they may want to have on their site, and this typically helps them to plan out what kind of copy they’ll need to have, too. Your designer may do the same — make sure to ask!
Find a web designer who also offers copywriting, like I used to (and still do in special cases…feel free to inquire if this is something you’re in the market for!)
Your Media
Now that your designer has your text, they’re going to want your photos & videos too!
This includes (but is certainly not limited to):
Headshots of you (and your team, if you’ve got one)
Photos of your physical location, if you’ve got a store
Photos of you in action
Your logo (don’t have one yet? Ask your designer for recommendations or find one who makes logos as well!)
Any branded graphics you want to use
Any other photos taken by you or a professional you hired that you want to use!
I have several stock photo companies I love to use (though Unsplash is at the tippy top of my list, and not just because they partner flawlessly with Squarespace), as do most designers, so rest assured — if you don’t have piles of amazing professional photos lying around, it’s completely fine. We’ve got places to go to find fabulous photos relevant to your business.
By the way, you can sign up for a free trial of Squarespace here, and I also snagged you a lil’ deal so use code PARTNER10 for 10% off your first year of Squarespace!
However, there are some photos we just can’t pull from a stock photo archive: your headshot, for instance, or a well-taken image of your brick-and-mortar shop. Those will have to come straight from you, and you can bet we'll ask for them (visitors to your site will want to see them too!).
Similar to having copywriters on call, most designers will have photographer recommendations (if you’re local to the area where your designer lives, at least). Some photo tips to keep im mind regardless:
Make sure they’re high-resolution. It’s an unwritten law of the internet jungle: Grainy, pixely photos just give off an unprofessional, amateur vibe and we designers really hate using them (I mean, I’m just speaking for myself, but if you can find a web designer who loves your blurry, pixelated product photo, I’ll give you $5). If you’re adding photos to your Squarespace site yourself, make sure you follow the 500KB rule!
Make sure they look clear & professional. Okay, so this is sort of another way of saying “high-resolution,” but I’m talking more about phot content here. Make sure the photo subject(s) are in clear focus and make sure the image has good lighting, good editing and looks like it was intentionally taken (unless the “abstract vibe” is intentional for your brand).
Make sure they’re copyright-free. Perhaps you have a Pinterest board full of fabulous images that reflect exactly what you want to have on your site. That’s GREAT…but chances are, we can’t use those particular photos on your website. Unless images specifically come from a free or suscription-based stock photo website, designers cannot use third-party photos without written permission. If there is a photo you MUST have, it’ll be your job to get in touch with the owner and request to use it. Yes, this still applies even if we link the photo back to the original website. (Keep this Pinterest board, btw — designers LOVE to see your website inspo and will probably request it anyway!).
Side note: hiring a professional photographer takes care of all of the above! When they present you with your photos, they’ll usually include a “copyright” statement that releases the use of the photos to you.
The same info above goes for any videos you might want on your site as well:
Make sure they’re high-res and clear/professionally taken.
Make sure they’re copyright-free (or taken by you or someone you paid!).
Make sure they’re uploaded to either YouTube or Vimeo. This is the only big difference between photos and videos: Squarespace allows you to upload photos and even MP3 files, but it does NOT allow direct uploads of videos. Videos must be hosted elsewhere (Squarespace allows YouTube, Vimeo, Animoto or Wistia) and then can be easily & directly embedded into your page. Honestly, I find this easier that direct embedding AND big ol’ video files won’t slow down your website loading time!
I cover most of the above in the Media Guide resource I provide to my clients, but if your designer doesn’t have a related pre-design resource to pass along to you (or builds sites somewhere other than Squarespace), make sure to ask for any other guidelines they may have!
Third-party integrations
(set up already, passwords)
If you hear your designer mention “third-party integrations” and you wonder, “okay sure…except wth are those,” you’re not alone :)
It’s basically a tech-y sounding, simplified term for “other online things you want to connect to your website.” For instance:
Your social media (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.)
Your G Suite email (if you got your business email through Google. Don’t worry though — no matter what your email address is, Squarespace can link to it)
Your Google Analytics
Your domain (a.k.a your URL, a.k.a the “www” you may have already purchased for your website. Haven’t purchased one yet? No problem! Your designer can/should help you with that too.)
Your online scheduler (Squarespace works with Acuity)
Your newsletter service (Squarespace works with MailChimp)
Commerce-related platforms (Squarespace works with Apple Pay, Square, PayPal, Stripe, and more)
Shipping-related platforms (for online stores with physical products to send. Squarespace works with FedEx, UPS, USPS and ShipStation)
Restaurant-related platforms (Squarespace works with Open Table, ChowNow and Foursquare)
For a list of other third-party integrations that work with Squarespace, peep this link!
Designers will need you to have this information ready to pass along — they’ll need to know which of the above you want on/linked to your site; in some cases, they’ll request your login information (username and password) and in other cases, they’ll just need the URL. It all depends on how you want to use these “third-party integrations” in relation to your website!
One more reminder that is true in most cases: web designers do NOT set these up for you (with the exception of your domain, usually). You will need to have these in place and already set up, because for most designers, helping you set up your G Suite or your Apple Pay account or your Facebook business page is waaaay out of the scope of their work (and if it’s not, you’ll likely need to pay extra). Make sure you ask if you’re not sure!
BONUS: For Your Online Store
I always have fun working with clients who sell their fabulous products online, and Squarespace makes having an online store so easy. I try to make to make that process even easier with my Squarespace Online Store Organizer & How-To Guide resource that I give to my online store clients — but not every designer has one of those, either!
So in case they don’t and you’re planning on opening an online store within your website, most designers will need the following info about each individual product:
Whether it is a physical, digital or service product
Physical: something that needs to be shipped, like ceramics.
Digital: something that can be downloaded, like a PDF workbook.
Service: something you offer, like classes or consultations.
The product name (like the cute/fancy/professional name you want your visitors to see)
A photo of the product or related to the product
The price (of course!)
Any variants of the product (i.e. you sell one style t-shirt, but it comes in blue, green and red; you sell one style of dress but it comes in small, medium and large; etc.)
How many of the product you have available
Weight & dimensions (for physical products)
Details & additional info (i.e. a short blurb about the product for customers to read and other relevant info like what the product comes with, how to use it, disclaimers, etc.)
Whether or not you’re selling subscription products (i.e. products or services that you offer on a recurring basis)
Seem like a lot of info to gather (like…a lot more than the 2% I mentioned at the beginning of this blog)? I absolutely understand. Take a nice deeeep breath and know that you’re not alone — literally, because anyone who has ever pulled together a website has had to gather the exact same information.
More good news: the text, photos, integration and info you gather does not have to be perfect or final — websites can and should evolve as your business does (lord knows I’m constantly updating mine), so there is always room for error and always room to improve.
Need a little guidance on how to update your own Squarespace website? I offer lessons, too!
But I also say “you’re not alone,” because that’s also what your designer is for…to help guide you through this process, to help you parse out what info you do and don’t need, to support you as you navigate what you think might be relevant or not and more…and then, they pull it all together in a way that makes it all flow and work together! (That’s how I see my job, anyway 😉)
Now what should YOU expect to get from your web designer? Find out HERE.
In the meantime…
