What Should I Have Ready Before Hiring a Web Designer?

Walking into a web design project unprepared is one of the most reliable ways to make it slow, expensive, and frustrating — for you and the designer. The businesses that have the smoothest, fastest web design experiences are the ones that show up to the first call with their materials organized and their thinking clear.

Here's everything you should have ready before hiring a web designer.

Your Business Basics

A clear description of what you do. One or two sentences that explain your business, who it serves, and what problem it solves. If you can't articulate this clearly, your website copy will reflect that confusion.

Your target customer. Who is your ideal customer? Demographics, location, what they're looking for, what problems bring them to you. The more specific, the better.

Your main competitors. A short list of similar businesses — particularly ones with websites you think are effective. This gives your designer context and a benchmark.

What makes you different. Why should a customer choose you over competitors? Your differentiators shape how the site positions your business.

Your Brand Assets

Logo file. Ideally in vector format (.AI, .EPS, .SVG) or at minimum a high-resolution PNG. If you don't have a professional logo, tell your designer upfront — some include basic logo work; others can refer you to someone.

Brand colours. Your primary and secondary brand colours, ideally with hex codes (e.g., #2D4A8C). If you don't have defined colours, bring examples of colour palettes you like.

Fonts. If you have brand fonts, provide the names. If not, note any fonts you like or want to avoid.

Brand guidelines. If you have a brand guide document, share it. If not, don't worry — most small businesses don't.

Your Content

Page copy. Written content for each page of your site, or at minimum rough notes you can hand to a copywriter. The copy doesn't need to be polished — a brain dump of what each page should communicate is far better than nothing.

Photography. Professional photos of your team, your space, your products, or your work in action. A modern smartphone can produce good results with decent lighting and some effort. If you have nothing, ask your designer about stock photo options.

Testimonials. Three to five client testimonials you have permission to publish. If you don't have them collected, reach out to past clients before the project starts — gathering testimonials mid-project delays things.

Any existing content. Previous website pages, brochures, social media bios, old marketing copy — anything that captures your voice and messaging is useful reference material.

Your Technical Details

Domain name. Your web address (yourcompany.ca). If you already own it, have your registrar login ready (GoDaddy, Google Domains, etc.). If you don't have one yet, talk to your designer about registering one.

Current hosting. If you have existing hosting, have the login details handy. If you're starting fresh, ask your designer what they recommend.

Any existing website logins. If you have a current site being replaced, your designer may need access to redirect old URLs.

Email setup preferences. Do you want professional email (hello@yourcompany.ca) set up as part of the project? Know this going in.

Your Project Parameters

Budget. A realistic range you're comfortable sharing. See Article 26 on why transparency here works in your favour.

Timeline. When do you need the site live? Are there specific events, launches, or campaigns it needs to be ready for?

Decision-making. Who has final approval on the site? If it's not just you — if a partner, spouse, or manager needs to sign off — involve them from the discovery phase, not at the end.

Revision preferences. How involved do you want to be? Some clients want to approve every element. Others prefer to trust the designer and review at milestones. Neither is wrong — but knowing your preference helps the designer structure the collaboration.

The Prep Checklist (Quick Reference)

ClickAdMedia's Onboarding

We send every new client a structured onboarding checklist at kick-off to make sure we have everything we need from day one. Fewer surprises, faster builds, better results.

Start your project with a free discovery call.

What Should I Have Ready Before Hiring a Web Designer?