How to prepare for a new website project

Start with the goal, not the design

Before anything else, decide what a successful website means for your business. More phone calls? More online bookings? Fewer repetitive questions by email? Better-quality enquiries for larger jobs? Pick one or two main goals and write them down.

Every later decision, from page structure to the wording of buttons, follows from this. A site built to generate bookings looks and flows differently from one built to showcase a portfolio or to sell products.

Know who you are talking to

Describe your typical customers in a few sentences: who they are, what problem brings them to you, what they worry about before buying and which questions they always ask. If you serve more than one group, for example private clients and companies, note what each one needs to see.

Those recurring questions are gold. They become your FAQ section, shape your service pages and help search engines and AI assistants understand exactly what you offer.

Gather your content early

Content is the most common reason websites are delayed. Design can be finished in days, but a site cannot launch without the words and images that go on it. Start collecting these as soon as possible:

• A list of your services or products, with a short description and at least a starting price for each.
• Your business details: name, address, service area, phone, email, opening hours and company information.
• Your logo in the best quality you have, ideally a vector file (SVG, PDF or AI), plus any brand colours or fonts.
• Real photos of your work, your team and your premises. Authentic images build far more trust than stock photos.
• Customer reviews or testimonials you have permission to use, and any certifications, awards or notable clients.
• A short story about you: how you started, what you care about and what makes you different.

It does not need to be polished. Rough notes are fine, and a good web studio will help turn them into clear, persuasive copy.

Collect examples you like, and ones you do not

Find three to five websites you like, ideally a mix of competitors and businesses from other industries, and note what you like about each: the calm layout, the clear pricing, the way booking works. Do the same for a couple you dislike.

This gives your designer a shared vocabulary far more useful than “modern and clean”, which means something different to everyone. Look at your competitors too: what do they do well, and where could you stand out?

Sort out the technical basics

• Domain: do you own one? Make sure it is registered in your name or your company's, and that you have the login details.
• Existing website: if you have one, note which pages get traffic and which URLs must keep working, so you do not lose search rankings in the move.
• Email: check where your business email is hosted, so it keeps working when the website moves.
• Accounts: gather access to your Google Business Profile, analytics, social profiles and any booking or payment tools you use.
• Integrations: list anything the site needs to connect to, such as a booking system, newsletter tool, CRM or online payments.

Be realistic about budget and timeline

Have a budget range in mind and share it openly. It is not a negotiating weakness. It lets the studio recommend the right scope instead of guessing, and it avoids proposals that are either far too small or far too big.

Think about timing too. Is there a hard deadline, such as an opening, a season or a campaign? Plan backwards from it, and remember to block out time for your own feedback and content. A small website can go live in one to two weeks if content is ready; a larger one usually takes a month or more.

Plan for after launch

A website is not finished on launch day. Decide who will update prices, opening hours or news, and how often. Think about whether you want to add a blog, run ads or improve the site step by step based on what the analytics show.

Ask your web partner how updates work, what is included and what ongoing support looks like. It is much easier to plan this at the start than to discover it later.

A short checklist before your first call

• One or two clear goals for the website.
• A description of your main customer groups and their most common questions.
• A list of services with starting prices.
• Your logo, a handful of real photos and a few reviews.
• Three to five example websites, with notes on what you like.
• Domain, email and account access, or at least know who has it.
• A budget range and any fixed deadline.

You do not need every item ticked off to get started, but the more you have, the faster and more accurate the project will be.

How we approach it at Apture Studio

Every project starts with a short discovery call where we go through your goals, customers and content together, and we send you a simple checklist so nothing gets missed. If writing is not your thing, our copywriting support turns your notes into clear page text in English and Hungarian.

We also handle the technical side: domain setup, redirects from your old site, structured data and a fast, mobile-first build. If you are planning a new website, get in touch and we will help you get ready.