Give me those words and pictures

If we’re ready to start your project, just gather up the all information you’d like on your website and give it to me. 🙂

I strongly encourage you to prepare all of your website content and submit it to me before I start designing. The design process works most efficiently when I have all your content at the beginning of the project.

The design and layout of your content provided to me before I start your website design is included in your original project quote. Any content added later in the project will be subject to additional charges at my prevailing hourly rate.

Rest assured that you’ll have the opportunity to request minor corrections, additions, and changes to your content during the process. Two rounds of revisions are generally sufficient for you to provide feedback, find errors, and request minor revisions.

If changes are requested that significantly alter the work completed or add new functionality, there will be additional charges at my prevailing hourly rate.

How to prepare your content

I’ll accept your content in nearly any format. My first choice would be to receive an electronic document so that I can cut and paste your text directly into my editing software. If you can email me your information in some sort of text or Word document, I’ll be delighted!

However, I’m a reasonably fast typist so clearly-written or printed text will work, too. Brochures or other marketing collateral pieces are great sources of content, and I’d be happy to transfer that information onto your website. I’ll also copy information from some other online site like Facebook or LinkedIn. As long as you can organize the information into logical sections that I can understand, I can use it.

For photographs and other graphics, electronic formats are preferred, but I can scan prints if necessary, and I also have access to a film scanner if you need to dig into the archives. If you have graphics that are less than perfect, I may be able to clean them up or recreate them for an additional charge.

Please note that I will be unable to publish any copyrighted materials onto your website without permission from the creator. No lawyer-bait please.

Some additional thoughts

If you have writer’s block and need a nudge getting started, I recommend sketching out a diagram or outline defining your basic sections, and then add details from there.

• Common section headings are:
  • Home or welcome page
  • Products and / or services
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Gallery / Portfolio
  • Testimonials
  • Or any other section that fits your business

My web design worksheet helps me gather information about your business and the categories you would like to cover. Or you can just indicate various sections when you provide your content.

Graphics considerations

Photos and graphics can add interest, energy and offer a break from dry text. Above all, high-quality photography can give your website a more professional look, and it may be well worth the expense to hire a professional photographer to take photos of your operation. Your professional photos can be used for other marketing materials in the future.