Website Checklist

Here’s an overview of what I’ll need from you, listed in order of priority.

You can share files with me by email, Dropbox, Google Drive or WeTransfer using hello@sqspqueen.com as the address.

  • I’m very happy to help you work on the website structure, so this can just be your initial ideas.

    It should include which pages you want to appear in the top menu navigation (including any drop-downs) and any other pages that need to be included on the website.

    This will allow me to create the basic framework for the website ready to work on the design and page content.

  • Send over your logo in all the formats you have, and I’ll choose the most appropriate one for the website.

    You can also share any brand guidelines such as colours and fonts. This doesn’t have to be a formal document, a few lines in an email is fine.

    If you don’t already have a defined brand, please share any ideas you have in terms of the look and feel, and refer to the next section which is all about Design inspiration.

  • It can be helpful to review other websites for design inspiration, and they don’t have to just be from your own industry. You can think about the colours, fonts and layout.

    What specifically do you like (or dislike) about them?

    Are there any ideas that you would like to bring into your own website?

    Is there anything that you want to avoid?

  • You can use either a Word document or Google Doc to share the relevant page content with me. Most clients find it easier to have a folder with one document per page.

    Each page should include at least one action that visitors can take, whether that’s clicking through to another page or completing an action such as filling in a contact form, clicking on a button to make a donation or buying a product.

    You may also wish to work on the search engine title and description for each page at the same time, but it’s also fine to do this nearer to the launch date. See the SEO section for more details.

  • The easiest way to share images is using a file sharing service like the ones mentioned above.

    Images that will be used for banners or span the entire width of the screen should be 2000px wide minimum, otherwise if it’s going to take up less than half the width of the screen then 1000px is probably enough.

  • You can display social media icons in a number of different places on your website to encourage visitors to click through and follow you.

    If you would like to include these icons, please provide a link to your profile on each platform.

    If you would like to show your latest photos from Instagram, then I’ll need your Instagram login details so I can link it up to Squarespace.

    If you have an existing mailing list, please let me know what service you use and I’ll send you further instructions.

  • If you already have a website domain, please send me the login details so I can access the settings. If you can’t remember where you bought it, let me know and I’ll help you find out.

    Whilst I won’t be making any changes to your domain settings until you’re ready to launch, it’s worth digging out these details a few weeks in advance so I can check I have the right access.

    If someone else manages the domain for you, please put me in touch with them.

    If you don’t have a domain, you can buy this directly through Squarespace and you don’t need to do anything right now.

  • This policy should cover things like the information you collect, what you do with it, and how people can contact you about their data. And it doesn’t just relate to your website either; your privacy policy is about how you manage data across your business.

    There are lots of templates online for creating privacy policies but my favourite is this template from the ICO, who are the official organisation around data protection in the UK. Their document includes guidance and links to the relevant information on their website.

    Don’t worry about the section that covers cookies, I’ll add that information in for you.

  • You can add extra information behind the scenes for each page to provide a title and description that appears in search results and can help people find you online.

    By default, search engines will use the existing page title, but you can override this.

    The SEO description is displayed under the page title and its purpose is to provide more context about the page. Google usually displays up to around 160 characters, so put the most relevant information at the start.

    Once I’ve seen your page content, I can help you refine your SEO titles and descriptions.