The complete website planning checklist

1. Set clear goals

A website is a business tool. Before you think about colours or layouts, decide what it needs to achieve. Clear goals make every later decision easier and give you a way to measure success.

• Write down the main action you want visitors to take: call, book, request a quote, buy or visit
• Name your ideal customers and the problems you solve for them
• List your top three to five most profitable services or products
• Decide how you will measure success, such as calls, bookings, quote requests or sales per month
• Note what is not working on your current website, if you have one
• Set a realistic budget and launch date

2. Research your market

Your customers compare you with other businesses before they decide. Knowing what they see helps you stand out.

• Search for your main service and city on Google and note who appears in the map results
• Look at three to five competitor websites and write down what you like and dislike
• Read your own reviews and your competitors' reviews for the words customers use
• List the questions customers ask on every phone call
• Note the keywords customers type, such as "emergency plumber near me" or "dentist in North York"

3. Plan your pages

A professional business website starts with five core pages: Home, About, Services or Products, Blog and Contact. From there, add a dedicated page for each important service, product line or location, because each page can rank on Google for its own searches.

Write your page list before anything is designed. It decides the size of the project and, with per-page pricing, the cost.

• Home: your promise, best services and a clear call to action
• About: your story, team, values and experience
• Services or Products: an overview, plus one page per key service
• Blog: helpful articles that answer customer questions
• Contact: phone, email, form, map and hours
• Location or service area pages if you serve several cities or neighbourhoods
• Terms and Conditions and a Privacy Policy

4. Prepare your content

Content is the most common reason website projects slow down. Gather it early, or choose an agency that includes copywriting, as we do.

• Your logo in high resolution, ideally as a vector file (SVG, AI or EPS)
• Brand colours and fonts, if you have a brand guide
• Service descriptions, prices or price ranges, and what is included
• Team names, roles, photos and short bios
• Customer reviews and testimonials you have permission to use
• Certifications, licences, awards, associations and guarantees
• Business details: address, phone, email, hours, service areas and social media links
• Answers to your most common customer questions for an FAQ section

5. Gather photos and media

Real photos of your business, team and work build more trust than any stock image. If you do not have them yet, licensed professional images can fill the gaps until you do.

Ask your agency whether licensed images are included. At Amber Mint they are part of the $300 per page price.

• Photos of your team, location, products and finished work
• Before-and-after photos where relevant, with customer permission
• Videos, such as a short introduction, testimonial or project walk-through
• A list of image needs for each page, so nothing is missing at design time
• Image rights confirmed for every photo you supply

6. Plan SEO from day one

Search engine optimization is much easier to build in than to add later. Make sure your project includes these basics:

• One focus keyword per page, matched to what customers actually search
• A unique page title and meta description for every page
• Clear headings that describe each section
• Descriptive image file names and alt text
• Structured data for your business, services and FAQs
• An XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
• Fast loading on mobile, tested with Google PageSpeed
• If you are redesigning, a redirect plan so old addresses point to new pages
• A Google Business Profile with matching name, address and phone number

7. Features and integrations

Decide what your website needs to do beyond showing information. Every feature should support one of your goals.

• Contact and quote request forms, and where submissions should go
• Online booking or appointment requests, and which booking software you use
• An online store, payment providers, shipping and tax settings
• Email newsletter sign-up and the platform you use
• Live chat or click-to-text
• Analytics, conversion tracking and ad pixels
• CRM connections so leads reach your team instantly
• Multiple languages, if your customers need them

8. Before launch

A careful launch protects your reputation and your search rankings. Check everything before your website goes live.

• Every page reviewed on a phone, a tablet and a desktop
• All forms tested, with submissions arriving in the right inbox
• Phone numbers tap-to-call and correct everywhere
• Spelling, prices, hours and contact details checked
• Redirects from old pages working, if you are redesigning
• SSL certificate active, so every page loads with https
• Analytics and conversion tracking recording correctly
• Privacy Policy and Terms pages published and linked
• Backups set up and a plan for updates

9. After launch

Launch day is the beginning. Websites that keep growing are the ones that keep improving.

If you would rather focus on running your business, our digital marketing plans include website maintenance, blog updates and SEO work every month.

• Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and check for errors
• Update your Google Business Profile and other listings with the new website
• Ask happy customers for reviews
• Publish helpful blog articles regularly
• Review analytics monthly: which pages bring calls, bookings and sales
• Keep plugins, themes and WordPress updated
• Add pages as you add services, products or locations

How to compare website quotes

Quotes are only comparable when they cover the same work. Use your page list from step 3 and ask every agency the same questions: is the design custom or a template, is copywriting included, are images licensed and included, is basic SEO included, who owns the website and domain, and what happens after launch?

At Amber Mint the answer is simple: custom design, copywriting, licensed images and on-page SEO are all included for $300 per page, plus tax, and you own everything. Read our guide to website costs in Canada for typical price ranges.

Common planning mistakes to avoid

We see the same problems slow down website projects again and again. Avoid these and your project will run smoothly:

• Starting design before the page list is agreed
• Putting every service on one page instead of giving each its own
• Waiting until the end to gather photos and content
• Forgetting redirects when replacing an old website
• Choosing a domain or hosting in someone else's name
• Launching without testing forms on a real phone