What to look for when you commission a website.
For most brands, the website is the first impression. A poorly planned site wastes money and time; a well planned one brings in customers for years. Here is a checklist of what to think about before starting a website project.
CONTENTS
1. Define the purpose
What is the site for? Collecting inquiries, selling products, taking bookings or presenting the brand? The answer shapes the page structure, the design and the features you need. "Everyone has a website, so should we" usually ends in a site that does not work.
2. Prepare content early
Design follows content, not the other way around. The sooner your service descriptions, references, team info, photos and videos are ready, the faster and more accurate the site will be. If you have no content yet, include copywriting and visual production in the project.
3. Mobile is a must
Most visitors arrive on a phone. A site should not just fit on a phone, it should be easy to use there: readable text, easy-to-tap buttons, fast pages and contact links reachable with one hand.
4. Speed
A slow site loses visitors and hurts Google rankings. Unnecessary plugins, uncompressed images and heavy themes are the most common speed problems. Make sure the site passes speed tests before handover.
5. SEO foundations
From launch day, Google must be able to understand the site. Check that:
- Every page has its own title and description.
- URLs are meaningful (e.g. /services/web-design/).
- A sitemap and Google Search Console are set up.
- Language tags (hreflang) are correct if there is more than one language.
- Images have descriptive alt text.
6. Own your domain and hosting
You should be the owner of the domain and the hosting account. Even if you part ways with your agency, you must never lose access to your site and domain, so keep all passwords and ownership details yourself.
7. Discuss CMS needs
How often will you update content? If you will add blog posts, products, campaigns or listings, you need an admin panel you can use on your own. For a presentation site that rarely changes, a lean and fast build can be the better choice.
8. Security and legal pages
An SSL certificate (https) is no longer optional. If you collect data through forms, privacy notices and a cookie policy that comply with local regulations (such as GDPR or KVKK) must be on the site.
9. Measurement
Without measuring how many people visit, where they come from and how many get in touch, you cannot know whether the site works. Discuss analytics and conversion tracking at the start of the project.
10. After launch: maintenance
The work does not end at launch. Agree from the start on who is responsible for updates, backups, new content and small fixes.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build a website?
A one-page presentation site can take a few weeks; a multi-page site with an admin panel takes longer depending on scope. Having content ready is the biggest time saver.
Template or custom design?
Templates offer a fast and affordable start but make it hard to stand out. A custom design gives a brand-specific experience and a lighter, faster build.
Will the site show up on Google right away?
Google needs time to crawl and rank a new site. Solid SEO foundations, regular content and Search Console setup speed this up.
