How to Prepare Content Before Hiring a Web Designer: A Small Business Checklist
Get your website project off to a smooth start. Learn what content to prepare—brand assets, sitemap, copy, images, SEO basics—and save time and money.
How to Prepare Content Before Hiring a Web Designer: A Small Business Checklist
Hiring a web designer should feel exciting — like planning a new storefront in Maui or a creative studio in Shoreditch. But if you want a smooth, fast, and cost-effective build, doing some homework first will pay off big time. This guide is written for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs (from Hawaii to Berlin, Tulum to Lisbon) who want to hand a designer clean, usable content and avoid endless back-and-forth.
Why preparing content matters
A designer's time is expensive. When you provide organized, thoughtful content you get:
Faster launch times
Lower costs (less revision time)
Better SEO from the start
A final product that actually matches your vision
Whether you run a surf shop in Maui, a creative agency in Paris, or a boutique in Rio de Janeiro, the same basic pieces matter.
1. Define your goals and audience
Before you write a single sentence, answer these questions:
What is the primary goal of this website? (sales, leads, portfolio, bookings)
Who are your top 1–2 audiences? Describe them briefly.
What action do you want a visitor to take on each page?
Write this down in one short paragraph. Designers and developers will thank you.
2. Create a sitemap and page outline
Sketch the structure of your site. A simple sitemap might include:
Home
About
Services / Products
Portfolio / Case Studies
Blog / Resources
Contact
Under each page, write bullet points of the key sections. Example for Services:
Summary headline
Service features
Pricing or starting price
FAQ
Call-to-action (book, contact, buy)
3. Gather brand assets
Collect everything that communicates your look and feel:
Logo files (vector if possible: SVG, AI, EPS)
Brand colors (HEX values) and fonts (or font licenses)
Any brand guidelines or mood boards
If you’re in Maui, maybe your color palette includes ocean blues; if you’re in Cape Town, think bold contrasts. Share examples of websites you love from Lisbon to Tulum....