The key points
- State the one result the site must achieve.
- Know your audience and what they must believe before contacting you.
- Gather content, examples and the accounts you already own.
- Decide who approves work before the build begins.
What does a developer need to know first?
The goal comes before the design. Is the site meant to bring in enquiries, take bookings, sell products or support an existing sales process? Then the audience: who they are, what they are comparing you against and what would make them contact you. Without these, every other decision is a guess dressed up as design.
What materials make the biggest difference?
Existing copy, even rough notes, photographs you are allowed to use, your logo and brand colors, and a few examples of sites you like and why. Examples are most useful when you say what you like about them, such as the clarity of a page or the way a form works, rather than only the look.
List the tools the site must connect to: a booking calendar, a payment provider, a CRM or a WhatsApp number. Each has account requirements and sometimes third-party costs that shape what the website costs, so they're better known at the start.
- Written notes about services, process and who you serve
- Photographs and brand assets you have rights to use
- Examples of sites you like and what you like about them
- Booking, payment, CRM or messaging accounts to connect
What should you settle on your side?
Agree who approves work, how many people will review it and how long you can take over each review. Late or contradictory feedback is one of the biggest reasons a website timeline slips. Check that you control your domain registration and hosting accounts, and decide whether you want the source code and deployment access handed over, which is how we work. If your team runs a lot of vendor reviews, our professional communication course covers running meetings, email etiquette and negotiation.
Your pre-contact checklist
- The one result the site must achieve
- Who the audience is and what they compare you against
- A rough list of pages or features
- Copy, photographs and examples gathered
- Integrations, accounts and a named approver
Sources
Rules and guidance this answer relies on. Policies change, so check the current version before acting on it.