Your first business website: a practical checklist

Choose the first action a customer should take

Decide whether a visitor should call, send a message, request a visit or read a menu. A handyman may prefer direct contact; a cleaning business may need initial job details. Put that action where someone can find it on a phone.

Write a short description of the work you offer and who it is for. Include important limits, such as the areas you visit or work that needs a quote. A cafe should prepare its current menu and ordering method; a salon should prepare services, prices and its actual booking process.

Confirm facts and gather photographs

• Confirm the business name, monitored contact details and opening hours you want published.
• Provide a real address if customers visit, or the actual service area if you travel to them.
• Gather service descriptions, current prices or quote rules, and verified menu details where relevant.
• Choose photos you own or have permission to publish. Identify what each photo shows.
• Publish qualifications, reviews and other claims only when you can support them.

A new business can show the person behind it and explain its process. You can launch with a small set of useful photographs. Check that illustrative images represent your offer accurately and do not appear to show completed customer work.

Copy this brief and fill in your details

You can select and copy this outline into an email or document. If a detail is undecided, mark it for discussion instead of supplying a guess.

Business name:
What we do and who we serve:
Main customer action (call / message / request / menu):
Contact details to publish:
Address or service area:
Opening hours, if relevant:
Services, prices or current menu:
Proposed page sections or separate pages:
Photographs available and permission to use them:
Features needed (form / map / calculator / other):
Examples we like and what we like about them:
Target launch date and budget:
Questions we need to discuss:

Send the outline before choosing a package so the designer can assess what you need. The one-page and multi-page guide can help with the page list, and the website cost guide separates build costs from care, hosting and domain costs.

Agree what you will review and receive

Agree on the page list, content, features and fixed price. Confirm what design feedback is included and how publishing, files and account access will be handled. Mention likely additions and discuss how hours, prices or menu information will stay current.

ILDARIO discusses your requirements and prepares three design mockups before building the approved direction. During the working review, check the actual contact path and agreed functions as well as the appearance. A picture of a form does not show whether the completed form delivers a request.

Check the working website before launch

• Open every agreed page on a phone. Check text, navigation, photographs and the main contact action.
• Confirm the spelling of the business name, current hours, service area, prices and menu information.
• Check phone, email and messaging links against your real contact details.
• For an included form, send a test enquiry with your designer and confirm receipt, the reply path and the error message.
• If a map is included, verify that it points to your confirmed address.
• Check the agreed calculator or other function with a simple example you can verify.
• Confirm permission for images and the accuracy of public claims.
• Confirm the domain, hosting arrangement, renewal dates and the files or access you will receive.

List any corrections and review them on the working site before approval. A successful form test matters more than a success message alone.

Keep the launch information together

Keep the approved scope, final files, account details and renewal dates somewhere you can find them. Agree on how future content changes will be handled. Optional ILDARIO care is $99 paid once for six months and includes hosting for that period, with no automatic renewal. Domain registration and renewal remain separate.

If your brief is ready, leave your contact details. We can discuss the pages and features that fit your business.

More help with planning your website

• website cost guide
• Choosing a web designer online