Almost every late web project is late for the same reason: content. Design finishes, development finishes, and the site sits on staging for six weeks waiting for someone to write the about page. Here is what to have ready.
Before design begins you need your service descriptions and pricing, real photographs, your logo in vector format, testimonials with permission, and a decision about who writes the copy. Projects with content ready at kickoff finish roughly on schedule; projects without it slip by weeks, regardless of how fast the team works.
Why content decides the timeline
Design built around real words fits real words. Design built around placeholder text has to be reworked when the actual copy is twice as long, which means paying for the same layout twice.
This is why we schedule copy before design rather than after. It feels slower at the start and finishes considerably sooner.
The list
Written material
- A description of each service, in whatever rough form you have.
- Pricing or ranges, and what moves them.
- Team names, roles and short biographies.
- Testimonials, with written permission to publish and the person's name.
- Any legal or compliance wording you are required to include.
Visual material
- Logo in vector format, ideally SVG or the original design file.
- Real photographs of the team, the premises and the work.
- Brand colours and fonts if they exist, including licences for the fonts.
- Any imagery you have rights to, with the licence documented.
Access and accounts
- Domain registrar login.
- Existing hosting and CMS access.
- Analytics and Search Console.
- Any third-party tools that need connecting.
Photography is the usual bottleneck
Teams underestimate how long photography takes to organise. Booking a photographer, coordinating people, and getting usable images back is routinely three to four weeks.
Start it on day one. If a shoot is not possible, decide early to use illustration or typography instead, rather than defaulting to stock at the last minute because the deadline arrived.
Who writes the copy
| Approach | Timeline effect | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Agency writes it | Predictable | You want it done and briefed properly |
| You write it | Usually adds weeks | You have a writer with capacity, genuinely |
| Interview and we write | Predictable | Your expertise matters but you have no time |
| Migrate existing copy | Fastest | The current copy actually works |
The dangerous option is you write it when nobody has been given the time. Be honest at kickoff about whether that person exists.
Frequently asked questions
What content do I need for a new website?
Service descriptions, pricing or ranges, team names and biographies, real photographs, your logo in vector format, testimonials with permission, and access to your domain, hosting and analytics. Having these at kickoff is the single biggest determinant of whether a project finishes on time.
Should copy be written before or after design?
Before. Design built around real copy fits it. Design built around placeholder text usually has to be reworked once the real words arrive, which costs time and money for the same layout twice.
Who should write website copy?
Whoever will actually do it within the timeline. Agencies usually write faster because it is scheduled work, but a client who knows the subject and has genuine capacity can produce better raw material. What fails is assigning it to someone with no time.
What if I do not have photographs?
Decide early. Book a shoot, or commit to a design direction that uses illustration and typography instead. What causes problems is deferring the decision until launch week and reaching for stock as a last resort.
How long does content preparation take?
For a small business site, one to three weeks if someone owns it. Photography is usually the long pole at three to four weeks. Starting content at kickoff rather than after design is the difference between a four-week project and a twelve-week one.