You’ve finally made the decision: it’s time to build a professional website for your business.
But before you dive in, there are a few things you need to gather first. Skip this step, and you’ll end up with delays, back-and-forth revisions, and a website that doesn’t actually represent your business the way it should.
Here’s exactly what you need to have ready before you start building—so the process goes smoothly and your website actually works for your business.
1. Photos That Actually Connect With Your Customers
This is where most businesses drop the ball.
Your website needs high-quality photos that reflect your business, your product, and the success you bring to customers. Not stock photos. Not blurry iPhone pictures. Not images that have nothing to do with what you actually do.
Why does this matter?
Because success-focused images help potential customers envision themselves working with you. They see themselves in the outcome. They picture what life looks like after they buy from you.
What kind of photos do you need?
If you sell a product:
- High-quality images of the product from multiple angles
- Photos of the product in use
- Images showing customer success with the product
If you offer a service:
- Professional photos of you, the business owner—because you’re the key asset
- Photos of you in action, working with customers or clients
- Images that show the results your customers get
Invest in a professional photographer. Smartphone pictures won’t cut it. They’re often blurry, poorly lit, and low resolution—which makes your business look unprofessional. Quality images build trust. People connect with people, so show your face.
Tips to share with your photographer:
- Photos that are centered, off-centered to the right, and off-centered to the left (variety gives your website design flexibility)
- Photos of you or your product in action—not just posed
- Good lighting (this makes or breaks a photo)
- Photos of you in your everyday work environment—not stiff corporate headshots unless your customers resonate with that
- Photos showing customer success
Before you take the photos, ask yourself these three questions:
- Will my customer resonate with this picture?
- Does this picture resemble the product or service I’m trying to sell?
- Does the picture show customer success?
If the answer to all three is yes, you’re on the right track.
2. Your Logo and Any Existing Marketing Materials
If you already have branding, gather it now. This includes:
- Your logo (ideally in a high-resolution format like PNG or vector file)
- Brand colors (if you know them—hex codes or RGB values are helpful)
- Fonts you use in other marketing materials (catalogs, flyers, business cards, etc.)
Why does this matter? Consistency builds trust. If your website looks completely different from your other marketing materials, it confuses potential customers. They start to question if they’re even on the right site.
If you don’t have a logo or branding yet, that’s okay. We can help you with that as part of the website build process.
3. A Clear List of All Your Products and Services
This sounds simple, but it’s critical.
You need to provide a complete list of everything you sell or offer. Why? Because how we organize and present your offerings on your website directly impacts whether customers understand what you do—and whether they buy.
If your website tries to sell too many things at once without a clear structure, customers get confused. And confused customers don’t buy.
A well-organized list helps us build a website that guides people to exactly what they need—without overwhelming them.
4. Testimonials (The Trust-Builder You’re Probably Ignoring)
Here’s the truth: most businesses don’t ask for testimonials. And it’s costing them sales.
Testimonials are one of the most powerful ways to build trust and show authority. They prove you can deliver results. They show that real people have worked with you and had a positive experience.
But you have to ask for them.
How to get great testimonials:
Don’t just ask, ‘Can you provide a testimonial for us?’ That’s too vague. Instead, have a conversation with your customer or send them a survey with specific questions. Then, take their answers and turn them into a testimonial.
Questions to ask:
- What was your biggest challenge or struggle before you bought from/worked with us?
- What problem did we help you solve?
- Were you hesitant at all to buy from us? If so, why?
- What does your life or business look like now?
- Why did you choose to buy from us?
These questions help you capture specific, detailed testimonials that actually resonate with potential customers—not generic ‘Great service!’ statements.
Bonus: Add statistics if you can.
Numbers build credibility. If you can back up your testimonials with stats, even better:
- Number of years in business
- Awards you’ve won
- Number of clients you’ve served
- Hours you’ve saved your customers
- Money you’ve helped your clients make or save
People want to see proof. Give it to them.
Why Gathering This Stuff Upfront Saves You Time and Money
Here’s what happens when you don’t have this ready:
- Your website project drags on for months instead of weeks
- You end up using placeholder images and generic content that doesn’t convert
- You waste time going back and forth with revisions because the foundation wasn’t solid
- Your website goes live, but it doesn’t actually represent your business or generate sales
Gathering these four things upfront—photos, branding, your product/service list, and testimonials—sets your website up for success from day one.
Ready to Build a Website That Actually Works?
At Snowy Mountain Marketing, we don’t just build websites. We build strategic sales engines designed to help your business scale.
We handle everything: strategy, branding, copywriting, design, and development. And when you come prepared with the right materials, we can move quickly and deliver a website that’s built to grow your business.
Ready to get started?
👉 Book a Strategy Call and let’s build a website that works as hard as you do.
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