What to Prepare Before Hiring a Web Designer

The short answer: before you contact a designer, get clear on the site's main goal, who it's for, what pages you need, what content you already have, a few sites you like and why, who makes the final decisions, and your budget and deadline. You don't need all the answers, but thinking these through makes every conversation faster.

1. The one goal that matters most

"We need a new website" isn't a goal. "We want more consultation bookings" or "we need to look credible to investors" is. The main goal shapes the structure, the calls to action, and what gets priority on the homepage.

If you have several goals, rank them. A designer can serve more than one, but not equally.

2. Who the site is for

Describe your ideal visitor in a few sentences: who they are, what problem brought them to you, and what they usually ask before buying. If you have sales calls or support emails, the questions people ask there are gold for the site's content.

3. A rough list of pages

You don't need a full sitemap, just a starting list. A typical small business site might have:

• Home
• Services, with one page per service if they're different enough
• About
• Work, case studies, or portfolio
• Contact or booking
• Blog or resources, if you'll actually publish

Note anything special: bookings, payments, multiple languages, client logins, or integrations with tools you already use. These affect scope and platform choice more than page count does.

4. Your content, honestly assessed

Content is the most common cause of delays. Before starting, check what you actually have:

• Copy: is it written, needs updating, or doesn't exist yet? Decide whether you'll write it or pay someone to.
• Photos: real photos of your team, space, or product beat stock images almost every time.
• Brand assets: logo files (ideally SVG), colours, and fonts.
• Proof: testimonials, client logos, reviews, case studies.

5. Examples, with reasons

Collect three to five websites you like, and write one line about what you like on each: the layout, the tone, how clear the pricing is, a particular animation. "I like this site" is hard to act on; "I like how this site explains the process in four steps" is easy.

A couple of sites you dislike, with reasons, helps just as much.

6. Access and logins

Gather these early so launch day isn't spent hunting for passwords:

• Domain registrar login, or whoever manages your domain.
• Current website and hosting access.
• Google Analytics, Search Console, and any ad accounts.
• Email marketing, CRM, and booking tools that need to connect to the site.

7. Who decides

Projects slow down when feedback comes from many people with no final say. Name one person who collects feedback and makes the final call at each stage.

8. Budget and deadline

Sharing a budget range isn't giving away leverage. It lets the designer suggest what's realistic, whether that's the full scope or a smaller first phase. Be clear about whether your deadline is fixed, like a product launch, or flexible.

Common mistakes

• Starting design before content exists, then reworking layouts to fit it.
• Asking for "something modern" without examples.
• Adding features mid-project that change the platform or timeline.
• Forgetting who will update the site after launch.

Next step

Put your answers in a single document and share it before the first call. If you'd like to talk through your project, book a free 15-minute call with us.