Website content checklist: the copy, photos, logo and details to gather before you start
To build your website you'll need five things: copy about what you do, real photos, your logo, your contact details and the questions customers ask most. Gathering them before the build starts is the single biggest thing that keeps a website project on schedule.
To build your business website you'll need five things: copy about what you do and who it's for, real photos, your logo, your contact details and the questions customers ask most. Gather them before the build starts and your site gets done sooner and looks more like your business.
In almost every project, what slows things down isn't design or development. It's waiting for content. That's why I put this checklist together. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to exist.
Sort it into three piles
The list feels lighter if you split it by effort. Some things you already have and just need to collect, some need writing, and some need a decision. Start with the first pile: it takes an afternoon and it's enough for me to get going.
Pile 1: things you already have
- Your logo, in the best file you've got. If it only exists in a photo or a PDF, send it anyway and we'll work with it.
- Photos of your shop, your team, your products and finished jobs. Phone photos are fine.
- Contact details: address, hours, phone, email, social links. Make sure they match your Google Business Profile.
- Lists you already use: catalog, menu, service list, product spreadsheet. Even if they include prices, they help me organize things; you decide what gets published.
- Customer reviews you already have in writing, with permission to show them.
Pile 2: things to write
You don't need polished writing here. Just answer these questions in your own words:
- What do you do, and for whom? Two or three sentences, the way you'd say it at a networking event.
- What makes you different? Not “quality and service,” which everyone claims, but something specific: your hours, your area, how you work, a service others don't offer.
- Each main service or product: what it is, who it's for and what a customer should know before reaching out.
- How people buy from you: the steps from first message to getting what they ordered.
- Who's behind it: a paragraph about you or your team. People buy from people.
Pile 3: things to decide
- What you want visitors to do: message you, book, buy, call. One main action, not five.
- Which pages the site needs. When in doubt, start with fewer pages done well.
- What you'll want to update yourself, and how often: prices, specials, new photos. That decides whether you need your own admin dashboard.
- Your domain, if you don't have one yet. I covered how to pick one in custom domain and business email.
You've already written your FAQ
This is the content people forget most, and one of the most useful. A good FAQ saves your business messages, builds trust with people who don't know you yet, and is exactly what AI search tools read when someone asks them about your type of business.
You don't need to make questions up. Open your inbox or WhatsApp and scroll through recent customer messages. “Do you deliver?”, “Are you open Saturdays?”, “How long does it take?”, “Do I need an appointment?” Copy the ones that keep coming up and write your usual answer. That's a section of your website, done.
Missing something? Don't stop
| If you don't have… | In the meantime |
|---|---|
| A logo | We start with your business name in a clean typeface and add the logo later |
| Professional photos | Phone photos in natural light, with the place tidied up |
| Copy for each service | A voice note per service, explained like you would to a customer |
| Customer reviews | The section is built and ready, and fills in once you ask for them |
| A domain | Pick it early; it's the one thing you shouldn't leave for the end |
How to send it over
The easiest way is a shared Google Drive folder with a subfolder for each type of content: photos, copy, logo. Copy can be a document or voice notes, whatever's easier for you. The one thing I ask is that photos go in their original size, not forwarded through a chat app, because they lose quality there.
For more detail on each part, I wrote two guides: writing your website copy and photos for your business website.
When the content is the business: Pérez Palermo
On visual artist Pérez Palermo's website, the content is the artwork. So the site is built as a catalog organized by period, with a page for each piece, and he adds new works himself.
In a case like that, “what content should I prepare?” has a different answer. It's not about gathering everything at once; it's about deciding what details each piece needs, so adding a new one later is easy. If your business has lots of products or projects, think about it the same way.
See the Pérez Palermo caseFrequently asked questions
What if I don't have good photos?
Start with phone photos taken in good natural light, with the place tidied up. They work far better than generic stock images. If you want professional photos later, they can be swapped in without touching the rest of the site.
I'm not a writer. What do I do about the copy?
Answer the questions on the list with voice notes, as if you were explaining it to a customer. I'll turn that into a first draft and you edit it. What matters is that the information comes from you, because nobody knows your business better.
Do I need everything before we start?
No. With the main copy, your logo and a few photos, design can begin. The rest gets added as we go, but the more you have at the start, the less back-and-forth there is.
If you're about to build your website and want this checklist tailored to your industry, message me on WhatsApp at +54 9 11 6193-3176 or email contacto@facundocampo.com.ar. I answer in English and Spanish. You can also see what I build in [services](/en/servicios).