what you need before starting a website: the checklist that saves you weeks
web · Sep 24, 2026 · 4 min read
the most expensive sentence in web projects is "we will figure out the content later". later costs weeks, and weeks cost money. the good news: the things that make a project fast are small, concrete, and you can gather them before talking to anyone.
the checklist, in order of what actually unblocks work
- the job of the site. one sentence: a stranger arrives, does [this]. book a table, send an email, understand the service. everything downstream is decoration until this exists. i wrote why this decision makes all the others cheap in how do i make a website.
- the one sentence of the business. i help [who] do [what] so that [result]. every page either supports it or is filler. writing it is hard, which is exactly why it must happen before the budget starts burning.
- the list of services, in client words. not "integrated solutions". the words the actual customers type and say. ask your last five clients what they would search for; use their words.
- proof. photos of real work, real reviews, real numbers. proof is what makes a stranger trust a page, and it is the one thing nobody can generate for you honestly.
- the domain. owned by you, in an account you control, with an email you read. not registered by the cousin, not locked in an ex-freelance's panel. the domain is the deed to the address; keep the deed.
- the logins list. every project loses days to account archaeology: which email owns the registrar, who has the hosting panel, where the old site even lives. one document, one page, all the keys.
- the year-two budget. a site costs after launch: domain, hosting, updates, someone to call. the checked numbers are in quanto costa un sito web; knowing them before you start is the difference between a budget and a surprise.
what you do not need yet
a logo can wait; a text placeholder is not a brand, and most first logos get replaced once the site says something. a full brand guide can wait. ten pages of copy can wait — four honest pages beat ten thin ones, as written in how many pages does my website need. and technical decisions — stack, hosting, cms — are the provider's job to recommend, not yours to pre-decide.
FAQ
do i need a logo before the site?
no. you need the words and the proof. a simple wordmark carries a small business site fine until a real logo is worth commissioning.
should i write the texts myself?
write the first version yourself, even badly: nobody knows the client questions like you do. polishing can be bought; knowing cannot.
how much should i prepare vs pay someone to do?
prepare what only you know: services, proof, client words. pay for what needs craft: structure, design, build. paying an agency to interview you for content you could have written is the most common waste in the industry.
the philosophy in one line
websites do not fail at launch. they fail in the weeks before, silently, in a folder of half-ready photos and a paragraph nobody finished. gather the small things first. the build is the easy part.