1. Goal and people
Before choosing colours and screens, write in a few lines:
- What the project must achieve: contact requests, bookings, sales, sign-ups. One main goal is better.
- Who will use it: who your customers are, what phone they use, what they search for and with which words.
- How you will know it works: for example «20 contact requests a month» or «10 orders a week». A number, even a rough one, is worth more than «more visibility».
2. Content and materials
This is the part that most often delays a project. Gather, before starting:
- Logo in vector format (if you have one) and your brand colours.
- Copy: who you are, what you offer, who you serve, frequently asked questions. Drafts are fine: they are polished together.
- Photos and images you have the right to use. Pictures taken from the internet cannot be used without permission.
- Price list or list of services, with the prices you want to show.
- Contact and legal details: company name, address, VAT number, email. They are also needed for the privacy policy, terms and store accounts.
3. Features: the essentials first
- List what the project must do to reach the goal, and separate it from what would be nice to have. The second group can wait for version 2.
- Bring three examples of sites or apps you like and explain why: they help more than a thousand words.
- For an app, write whether you need user accounts, notifications, payments or offline use: these are the items that change tier and price.
- For a website, decide how many pages you need and whether you want a blog or an online shop.
4. Accounts and access: they must be yours
Everything you buy or open for the project must be registered in your name, not in the name of whoever builds it. Otherwise, if you change supplier, you may have to start over.
- Domain (the website address) and hosting. Before choosing the name, check whether it is available on several extensions.
- Apple Developer and Google Play accounts, if there is an app: see store costs and documents.
- Google Analytics and Search Console, to measure visits and check how Google sees the site.
- Google Ads and Meta, if you will advertise.
- Business email (a dedicated address is better than a personal one).
5. Budget, timing and point of contact
- Set a maximum budget and a date you really need (an event, a season): they help choose the right tier.
- Remember the costs that are not in the project: hosting, store accounts, advertising, the time to write the content.
- Name one person who approves and answers quickly. More people deciding means more rounds of corrections.
- Agree in writing on what is included, how many review rounds there are and how changes are handled.
A filled-in example (made up)
To get a sense of how much detail is enough, here is the checklist of a physiotherapy practice that wants a website. The example is invented, but realistic:
- Goal: 15 first-visit requests a month from the contact form.
- People: local adults searching for «physiotherapist» and the name of the neighbourhood, on their phones.
- Content: vector logo, 8 photos of the practice with consent, drafts of the 5 treatments, opening hours and address.
- Must-have features: 5 pages, a contact form and a map. Nice to have, for later: blog and online booking.
- Accounts: domain registered to the practice; Search Console and Google Business Profile opened by the owner.
- Budget and timing: one point of contact and delivery before the autumn restart.
- With these answers the tier is obvious: a website of up to 5 pages, from €1,350, delivered in 1-2 weeks.
The fastest way to get started
If your ideas are already clear, the quote calculator gives you the recommended tier, price and timeline in two minutes, without leaving your email. If you are still choosing, read how to choose an agency and how long it takes to build an app.