Website projects often slow down because key decisions, content or account access arrive after development has started. A short preparation phase prevents much of that friction.
You do not need to write a technical specification. You need to explain the business, audience, desired action and information the website must handle. Your developer can translate that into an appropriate solution.
1. Business goals and audience
Choose one primary purpose and a small number of supporting goals. Examples include generating qualified enquiries, selling products, accepting bookings or helping customers evaluate a service.
- Who is the priority customer?
- What problem brings them to the website?
- What should they do next?
- How will the business recognise a useful result?
- Which countries, cities or languages must the website support?
2. Pages and content
List the pages needed for launch and assign an owner for every piece of content. Most business websites need a home page, service or product pages, about information, contact details and relevant legal notices.
- Approved company description and value proposition
- Service descriptions based on real capabilities
- Team biographies and professional photographs where relevant
- Verified projects, testimonials and outcome claims
- Phone, email, address and operating hours
- Calls to action for each important page
3. Brand and visual material
Supply original logo files, brand colours, fonts and image usage rules. Gather high-quality photographs or decide whether a professional photographer, licensed stock library or custom illustration is needed. Do not copy images or text from competitors.
4. Features and integrations
Describe the user action rather than prescribing technology. For example, say that customers need to choose a date and receive confirmation, then let the developer recommend the booking approach.
- Contact or quotation forms
- Payments, products and delivery rules
- Appointment or event booking
- Newsletter or CRM connection
- Maps, chat and WhatsApp
- Customer accounts or restricted content
- Analytics, advertising and consent tools
5. Domain, hosting and account access
Identify who controls the domain, DNS, hosting, business email, analytics, search tools and third-party services. Grant the minimum access required and use named accounts where possible. Avoid sharing a personal password when a service supports team access.
6. Privacy, cookies and legal responsibilities
List the personal information each form or integration collects, why it is needed, who receives it and how long it is retained. Legal pages must reflect actual business practices, not a copied template. Obtain qualified legal advice where your risk or regulatory obligations require it.
7. Approvals, testing and launch
Name the person with final approval authority. Agree on feedback rounds, supported devices, browser testing, form checks, redirects, analytics, backups and launch responsibilities before the deadline.
- Content and design approval
- Mobile, keyboard and browser checks
- Form delivery and error-state testing
- Page titles, descriptions and indexability
- Redirects from replaced URLs
- Analytics and Search Console access
- Backup and recovery arrangements
- Training and handover documents
Turn the checklist into a useful brief
Combine your answers into a short document, attach available brand material and mark unknown items clearly. A developer can then identify dependencies, recommend phases and prepare a proposal grounded in the same facts.
Sources and further reading
Primary references used to support the guidance in this article.
- Nigeria Data Protection Commission - An official example of transparent data-practice explanations in Nigeria.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
What information does a web developer need from me?
Provide your business goal, audience, page list, content, brand assets, required features, integrations, account ownership, legal needs, budget context and target date.
Do I need all website content before development starts?
Final content is ideal before detailed page design. At minimum, provide a confirmed content plan, responsible authors and approval dates so layouts are not built around unrealistic placeholders.
Who should write the website copy?
The business can supply it, the developer may include copywriting, or a specialist can be hired. The proposal should state who researches, writes, edits and approves every page.
What should be tested before a website launches?
Test navigation, forms, responsive layouts, keyboard use, browser compatibility, metadata, redirects, analytics, security controls, backups and the most important customer journeys.