By Maple & Pixel · Published October 6, 2026
Your website should answer the questions a customer would ask before calling, visiting, or requesting a quote. Before you choose colors or layouts, collect the information that helps them decide. Use this checklist to prepare a useful project brief and review the finished site.
1. Choose your main goal
Write one sentence that describes what a successful visit looks like. A café might want someone to check its menu and find directions. A contractor might want a homeowner to describe a project. Pick one clear primary action, then make the supporting information easy to find.
- Name your main customer and the question they arrive with.
- Choose your preferred next step: call, visit, book, or request a quote.
- List the information someone needs before taking that step.
2. Gather pages and content
Start with a home page, clear service information, a little about your business, and a contact page. Separate services into their own pages when each needs a meaningful explanation. Include what you do, who it suits, how your process works, and any useful limitations.
Collect accurate hours, contact details, service areas, and existing brand files. Use real customer comments only with permission; don’t fill an empty review section with invented praise. For an existing site, note useful pages and links worth preserving in your website redesign.
3. Prepare your photos
Gather original files showing your team, products, workspace, or completed projects. A selection of wide, square, and vertical images gives the layout room to work. Name what each photo shows and confirm you have permission to use it.
- Choose sharp, relevant images rather than several nearly identical shots.
- Flag distractions, uneven color, or backgrounds that need attention.
- Keep originals and ask for appropriately sized website files.
Photo editing can improve presentation while keeping your products and work accurately represented.
4. Review mobile use and accessibility
Check the site on an actual phone. Can you read the text without zooming, open the navigation, and reach the contact details? Buttons should be easy to tap, forms should have clear labels, and important information should remain visible at larger text sizes.
Try keyboard navigation on a computer, too. Look for visible focus indicators, useful image descriptions, and text that is easy to distinguish from its background. Check slow connections so large photos don’t get in the way of the page.
5. Organize ownership and access
Identify who controls your domain, hosting, business email, and any booking or business profile accounts. Keep recovery details current. Give a provider the access needed for the work through account invitations when available, rather than putting passwords in an inquiry form.
Ask what happens after launch: who can request updates, what is included, which subscriptions are separate, and how website files or accounts can be handed over. Record the answers in the project scope.
6. Prepare your search foundations
Give each important page a descriptive title and heading that match its purpose. Explain your services in the language customers use, link related pages together, and keep business details accurate wherever you publish them. Write for the person making a decision.
Before launch, check that public pages can be reached by search engines, that the sitemap reflects the site, and that replaced page addresses redirect appropriately. These foundations help search engines understand a website; they don’t guarantee a position in results. Our online presence support connects this work with your business profiles and message.
7. Test inquiries and plan updates
Send a real test inquiry and verify that it reaches the right person. Test required fields, confirmation messages, spam protection, phone links, and any booking links. Make sure a visitor knows whether their message was received.
Assign someone to review your hours, services, photos, and contact details when the business changes. Ongoing website care gives those changes a place in the plan instead of leaving them until the next redesign.
Ready to turn the checklist into a plan?
Bring what you have—even if some boxes are still empty. Maple & Pixel offers small business website design for $3,999 plus $299 per month for unlimited website changes. Review our pricing and scope details, then tell us about your project.