How to prepare content for your new website.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Prepare accurate business and contact details, a clear service list, draft copy for each agreed page, and original or licensed photos. Organize these by page and nominate one person to approve them. The Free Website Team’s free build uses the content you supply and includes one consolidated revision round.
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Get the essential details in one place.
Create a shared document with your business name, the public contact details you want to use, your working hours, and the area you serve. Copy details carefully: a wrong digit in a phone number matters more than a perfect headline.
Include existing website and social profile links. If your business has qualifications or a license you want to display, supply the correct wording and current details. Do not send passwords in an application form or a content document.
Practical checklist
- Business name and a one-sentence explanation of what you do.
- Public phone, email, hours, and genuine service area.
- The main service or project type you want more enquiries about.
- Links to your current website and active social profiles.
- One person responsible for approving content and giving feedback.
Write for the questions customers already ask.
Use your real conversations as a starting point. What do callers need to know about your service? What makes a project suitable? What information do you need before quoting? Answering those questions produces more useful copy than a page full of broad promises.
Make a short document for each agreed page. Use a clear heading, a few concise paragraphs, and a list only when it makes information easier to scan. Plain language is enough. The Free Website Team organizes the content you provide; professional copywriting is not included.[scope][process]
For services, explain the task, what is included, any important exclusions, and the next step. For your business introduction, describe who you are and how you work without inventing a team size, years in business, or awards.
Choose photos you have permission to publish.
Send original, full-resolution files when possible. Photos copied from messaging apps or screenshots may be too compressed for larger displays. A small selection of clear images is more useful than a large folder of near-duplicates.
Include a mix of wide views and useful details. Label each image with what it shows and whether it represents work you completed. Get permission before publishing a customer’s property, face, or identifying details.
Do not take images from a search result and assume they are free to use. Supply your own work or properly licensed assets. Stock photography can illustrate a service, but it must not be passed off as a completed project.
Practical checklist
- Keep original files and give them descriptive names.
- Check that images are sharp and reasonably well lit.
- Record which project or service each photo belongs to.
- Confirm permission and any attribution or license requirements.
- Remove private details that should not appear publicly.
Organize the handoff around your pages.
Use folders named after your planned pages and place the relevant copy and images together. Include any existing logo files if you have them; a readable text wordmark can work when you do not. Logo design is outside the free build.
Mark uncertain wording or missing information clearly. It is better to flag a gap than to fill it with a claim that has not been checked. A simple file list also makes it easier to avoid using an outdated price sheet or the wrong version of a service description.
Keep domain and hosting access separate from content. Those accounts should belong to your business, and access should be arranged through a secure method after the project is accepted.
Make your revision round count.
Before sending feedback, review the whole website on your phone and a larger screen. Check business details, service descriptions, image captions, links, and the contact route. Ask one decision-maker to collect the feedback into a single list.
Describe the issue and the intended correction. “Change the service area to these three cities” is actionable; “make it more local” leaves room for guesswork. Separate factual corrections from requests that change the agreed scope.
The standard build includes one revision round. Having accurate content ready and sending clear, consolidated feedback helps use that round well. If you are not ready yet, say so in your application so the schedule can reflect it.
Example: a project-photo handoff that needs fewer guesses.
Illustrative example: a landscaper sends three photos labeled ‘front garden planting,’ a sentence explaining the installation work, and confirmation of permission to publish. The image notes identify who designed the garden and which part the business completed. That is easier to use accurately than a folder named ‘best jobs’ with no captions or permissions.
Our recommended information for each project example
- The service shown and the work your business actually performed.
- An original image file with a descriptive filename.
- The photographer or image source and applicable license or permission record.
- Permission to publish the customer or property details you intend to show.
- A note identifying any information that must stay private.
The U.S. Copyright Office explains that permission can be requested from the copyright owner and that exceptions such as fair use depend on the circumstances. Our recommended workflow is to use your own approved work or clearly licensed material and resolve uncertainty before handoff. This guide does not determine whether a particular use is lawful.[photo-permissions]
How to use this guide.
Related questions, answered.
Can I send photos from an image search?
A search result is not evidence of permission. For our content handoff, use photos you created and can publish or material with clear rights for the intended use. If the rights are uncertain, obtain permission or choose a different image; this guide does not assess individual copyright exceptions.
What if some content is not ready?
Identify the missing material in your application. Content readiness affects scheduling, and professional copywriting is not included in the standard free build.
Sources & citations
- The Free Website Team: what’s included
The Free Website Team · Checked
Primary source for the offer’s page limit, revision allowance, inclusions, and exclusions.
- The Free Website Team: how it works
The Free Website Team · Checked
Primary source for selection, content preparation, ownership, and launch steps.
- Can I use someone else’s work?
U.S. Copyright Office · Checked
Primary explanation of obtaining permission and the fact-specific nature of copyright exceptions. This guide offers a conservative content-preparation workflow, not a legal opinion about an individual image.