Content Organisation Guide

Here’s a quick rundown of the steps we’ll take to launch your new website:

1. To secure your design slot, I require 50% of the fee, which will be invoiced along with my contract for you to read and sign before things begin. Then we’ll work out a date that will allow you enough time to gather your content to have it ready for the design period. Content refers to images, text, logos, etc.

2. Next, I’ll need copies of all of your content, business info, and any necessary login details (eg- for your website domain provider) before I can create your new website. 

3. When the site is complete, we can go through it together and you’ll have a chance to give feedback. I will then make any adjustments as required. 

4. To launch the site, the final 50% of the fee will be required, and I will open access to my unique teaching guide, which shows you how to make small adjustments yourself, such as altering text, or adding images.

Squarespace Account

I use the Squarespace platform, as it offers a dependable, flexible basis for websites that’s easier for clients to manage themselves compared to WordPress. I will create an account for you, once I’ve taken delivery of your content. Before we launch the website, your Squarespace website subscription will need to be paid before the end of the two-week design period. (Accounts are free for two weeks before payment is required).

I’d recommend the business plan as a good all-rounder, which is only £15 per month. Before we’re ready to launch, I’ll send you your temporary login details, which can be changed at a later date for your security.

Website Domains

Your website domain (or website address) will be needed to launch the site - you may already own one, or if you need one, I can set it up for you. It’s included as an option to buy within Squarespace, which is the easiest route. Most domains are very inexpensive and cost less than £20 a year to maintain. If you already own a website domain and it’s hosted by another provider (for example - Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc), I will need to connect the domain to your site. It’s usually fairly straightforward to do this, but I will need access to your domain provider to start the process. Your password can be changed for your security once it’s done, and all login details will be kept confidential.

If you don’t have a website domain, it’s best to choose one that’s simple and relates as closely to your business as possible. Usually, it’ll be ‘www.mybusinessname.com’. It can be useful in terms of search engine optimisation to have an address that contains the business type and location (for example, www.oxfordinteriordesign.com), but most of these ‘premium’ domain names will be taken unless you’re lucky! Whatever you choose, it’s advised to have the .com and .co.uk versions if possible. Again, we’ll need to have your domain ready before the design period begins.

Site Pages

You might want to consider if there are any specific pages you require on your website. Most websites tend to follow a similar path of featuring a homepage, a portfolio, a services or product page, an ‘about’ page, and a ‘contact’ page. Some businesses want to feature a blog or a testimonials page. It depends on the type of business, and what you’re looking to achieve. Of course, this will all be discussed before the design period.

The pages will provide the framework for the site content, which is the first and most important area to organise. This means the pictures, copy, videos, logos, business details, and any other information you’d like to be featured on your site. As they say, 'content is king', and it will define the look and feel of your website, so this is as important as the website design itself. If the technical requirements sound a bit complex, rest assured they should be automatically taken care of by a professional photographer/videographer/graphic designer.

Photography and Video

If you want a website that has an online store, you’ll need product images of your range. If you have a brick-and-mortar business, visitors like to see pictures of your premises. If you run a lifestyle-focused brand, it’s a good idea to have a bank of images that reflect your ethos. You might want to include video footage, which is a great way of conveying your brand to the viewer. Videos can be embedded on your site just as a photograph would be.

It’s always a good idea to have ‘hero shots’ - photos or clips that strikingly showcase your service or product, that can be used for large banner-style images to grab the viewer’s attention. It’s best if these are more general overviews, as the shape and crop of the image will change when viewed on a mobile device. (Websites viewed on a laptop will format to fit the ‘landscape’-orientated screen, while websites viewed on a mobile device will format vertically to fit the tall rectangular shape of most phones). Likewise, people love to see the person behind the brand, so a portrait is a must for your ‘About’ page, which is traditionally one of the most viewed pages on any website.

If you don’t need photographs or videos that are specific to your business, stock images are a great option. There are millions of inexpensive, high-quality stock photography options available. If you need help to source stock photos, I’m happy to do this for you. Your photography or video content must be strong, as it’s the first thing people will see when they visit your site. Images should be shot by a professional photographer/videographer and should be well-lit and composed, with natural colours and a sense of style suitable to your brand.

Technical requirements: 

For website use, photos need to be saved as a tiff or jpeg. (Original images shot by a professional will normally be more than large enough for web use). Videos need to be hosted on www.vimeo.com, which most videographers will have an account with. They can then be embedded onto your website from there. (Videos hosted by YouTube will include adverts, which Vimeo doesn’t). Files can be shared using the excellent www.wetransfer.com, a free service that is easy to use. 

Copy

As with your visual content, your copy should be well-executed to show professionalism on your website. If viewers spot a typo or don’t find the written element to be engaging, they will be put off. I’d recommend that the copy should be kept concise, and it should be proofread to ensure there are no mistakes. If budget allows, a professional copywriter will be able to convey the ethos of your business while ensuring the text is grammatically correct. Likewise, if you want to maintain a blog to promote your business, but don’t have the time to write articles, hiring a copywriter can be a good way around this.

If you would like help to source a copywriter, I’d be happy to do so. Your copy for the website can include anything from attention-grabbing headlines to mission statements and appealing product descriptions. When it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO), your copy will help Google to place your website, and hopefully move it up the listings when people are searching for businesses like yours. I’ve found the easiest way to share your copy for the site is to simply embed it in an email, or a PDF, titled according to the section the copy is intended for.

Branding

As ever, your branding is extremely important to the overall look and professionalism of your business, so it should show strong design and a contemporary colour palette that’s relevant to your style. If you need to hire a professional graphic designer, I’d be happy to source one for you. If you have existing branding such as a logo, wordmark, or any other design elements, they can be shared via www.wetransfer.com. 

Technical requirements:

As long as you have the original files, I can do the rest. Ideally, a logo etc should be saved by your graphic designer as a transparent png.