Please see the instructions below on items we require from you to set up your new website. Should you have any questions, please give us a call on 0403 975 061.
Similarly, if you would like some assistance to complete any of these processes please give us a call and we can talk you through them over the phone.
We review your market, competitors, and search intent so the site structure and content plan support SEO, AEO, GEO, and AIO from the start.
We recommend having a library of photos, ideally taken by a professional, that we can use across the website. Fresh, consistent images improve trust and conversion, and help your website look polished and credible.
Preparation – Domain Name & Hosting
Existing Domain
If you already have a domain, we will need to confirm:
- Your domain name (e.g. rewarddesign.com.au)
- Who the domain was registered with (e.g. GoDaddy, Crazy Domains or VentraIP)
- That you have login to access the management of the domain (required prior to launch)
New Domain
If you do not have a domain yet, we can help you choose and register the right domain name and set up the hosting and email correctly from the start.
Existing Hosting
If you already have a hosting provider, we will need to confirm:
- Your website hosting provider, if you already have hosting (e.g. Siteground or Digital Pacific)
- Your email platform/provider (e.g. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace)
- Your IT company contact (if applicable)
- If you use an IT company, please share their business name and best contact details with us so we can liaise with them when your domain, DNS, email, or security settings need updating.
- Confirm who manages your DNS and email settings (e.g. you or your IT provider)
- Please provide us with login details, or add us as a user to your hosting platform (as required)
New Hosting
If you don’t have any existing website hosting, OR you want to change providers, we highly recommend SiteGround. Their plans are discounted and very cheap for the first 12 months, but change to the full price after this period. We find the cost after the initial 12 months is still a great price, and is comparable to other (not-so-good!) providers.
We recommend the GrowBig plan for most clients; however, small sites can get away with the StartUp plan. We will let you know which plan we think is most suitable for you when we get to the hosting stage.
Setting Up SiteGround:
If you’re planning to use our recommended SiteGround hosting, please click here and follow the prompts to create an account. If you would prefer, we can walk you through this process over the phone.
Initially, please only nominate the domain name you currently have. You also don’t need to add any other features that they may prompt to you. These can be added later if required.
Once you have created the account, please forward us the SiteGround confirmation emails with your login details included. We can then log in to your account and add ourselves as a ‘Contributor’. This allows us to build your site and access tech support for you (if necessary).
Please note, SiteGround will likely send you prompts to change your Name Server (‘NS’) records to point your domain at them. DO NOT do this as we need to adjust a few things first, and ensure the changes do not affect other things, such as your emails.
1: Plan – Website Structure
We draft and confirm the website structure so the project stays clear and SEO-friendly.
Once we have completed this, we will need you to approve:
- The page list (site map)
- Any priority pages or services that must be included
- Any locations or service areas that need to be mentioned (if relevant)
2: Content – Branding & Design
Existing Logo Files
Please provide us with copies of your logo in the best possible format you have available (e.g. .jpg, .png, .ai, .eps, .pdf, .tiff). If you have multiple file types, please provide us with all of them, and we can determine the best quality version for what is required.
If your logo was professionally designed, you should have the logo in Illustrator format (.ai or .eps).
Logo Redraw (Optional Unless Reccommended)
In some cases, if your logo is not in a suitable format or of a sufficient quality for what we require, we may need to redraw your logo.
If this is required, we will provide our reasoning, as well as an estimate of the time and cost to complete the logo redraw. We will then provide you with the new logo files for you to use the updated version in any future branding.
We need to confirm your visual style so we can ensure the website matches your brand and audience. To do this, we will need:
- Your style guide (if you have one)
- Your brand colours (e.g. images of the colours, hex, RGB or CMYK)
- Fonts (e.g. Arial)
- Key brand messages
We can refresh or refine your branding before or during the website build if required.
3: Content – Text, Photos, Downloads
Existing Photos
If you already have photos, please send them to us via:
- Email (if there are not many)
- DropBox/OneDrive/WeTransfer (if the files are large and/or multiple images)
If possible, please provide us with the highest quality versions of the photos you have available. These can be in various formats (e.g. .jpg, .png, .tiff).
New Photos:
Please note: high-quality photos make a huge difference when visually representing your business.
If you have the budget available, we would highly recommend using a professional, commercial photographer. To ensure the images suit their intended purpose, we would also highly recommend introducing and involving us with the photographer. This way we can both help to successfully visually represent your business.
If you don’t have any contacts for a professional photographer, please ask us for a list of recommendations.
If your budget does not allow for a commercial photographer then we certainly recommend having a go yourself or asking us to take photos for you. Thanks to technology, most people have a mobile phone that takes great photos at a suitable resolution.
Tips for taking your own photos:
- We always recommend taking the majority of photos in landscape format, as we can easily crop and scale the images as needed.
- Include people in the photo; it could simply be a hand holding something, or a blurry person in the background.
- They don’t need to be looking at the camera! In fact, people not looking at the camera and going about their regular activities is ideal.
- If you are taking a product photo, take a few versions of the 1 photo in various layouts (landscape, portrait) and do not get too close with in-camera cropping.
Alternatively, we can also help to select suitable images and visuals using our stock library.
Existing Text
If you already have text content for each page, please send it to us. A Word.doc is fine but please ensure the content is aligned to the ‘Plan’ for the pages and labeled accordingly. This can include notes we can build on.
It is also useful to provide us with:
- Any existing brochures, documents, download, menus, or service lists
- Testimonials, reviews, or case study details (if available)
Note: SEO is heavily influenced by the text content and structure provided. If SEO is an objective of the site please let us advise you about what is required.
New Text:
If you do not have content, we can help to write, structure, and optimise your content.
Note: SEO is heavily influenced by the text content and structure provided. If SEO is an objective of the site please let us advise you about what is required.
4: Stage – Initial Build & Review
We build 1 to 4 key page layouts first and send them to you for review. This ensures the design is on track to your expectations before we start building the full site.
We need your:
- Feedback on layout, style, wording and image placement
- Approval to proceed to the full website build
5: Stage – Build, Test & Review
After the inital review from you, we will take on any feedback and then continue to build the remaining pages of the site. This is where we add the remaining features and test everything thoroughly.
This includes testing:
- Responsiveness (mobile and tablet layouts)
- Forms and email delivery
- Links and navigation
- Performance and basic security
As the last review, we then need you to:
- Review the full website carefully
- Confirm any final changes
- Approve the website to launch
6: Stage – Access & Integrations
We will need:
- List of people who need website access (and their email addresses)
- Google Search Console access (optional but recommended)
Existing GA & ReCaptcha Details
If you already have your Google Analytics code and your ReCaptcha keys, please send them to us so we can implement them across the site.
We will need:
- Google Analytics code (or access so we can set it up)
- reCAPTCHA code / keys (or access so we can create it)
New GA & ReCaptcha Details:
Please view our other instruction page on Google Analytics and ReCAPTCHA using the link below.
7: Stage – Membership (if applicable)
If your website includes membership or restricted access, we will need the following information from you:
- Membership requirements (who can join, free vs paid, levels)
- What members can access (pages, downloads, courses, resources)
- Any member-only workflows (renewals, emails, approvals)
- Member database
If you already have members, we will need your member database as a CSV or Excel document, including at a minimum the following: First name, last name, email and membership level of each member.
8: Stage – Launch & Post Launch
To launch the site, we need you to:
- Provide final approval
- Any final hosting access, if required (as per ‘Preparation‘ at top of the page)
We confirm:
- Your contact forms are working
- Google Analytics is tracking correctly
- reCAPTCHA is active and working
- Your website is live and stable