What to Prepare Before Hiring a Web Developer

Most website projects don't get delayed because the developer is slow. They get delayed because the client wasn't ready. I've had projects sit untouched for six weeks waiting for a logo, a list of services, or a simple "yes, go ahead." The more you prepare before you reach out, the faster and cheaper your project will be.

Here's exactly what to have ready before you message anyone.

Know what you actually want the website to do

Before anything else, decide the job your website is doing. "I want a website" is not a goal. "I want people to book appointments online" or "I want customers to see my products and message me on WhatsApp" is a goal.

Write down one or two main actions you want visitors to take. This single decision shapes everything: the pages you need, the features, the price, and how long it takes. If you're not sure whether you even need a full site yet, it's worth reading about a landing page vs a full website for startups first.

Gather your content

This is the part that delays almost everyone. A developer can build you a beautiful empty shell in days, but it stays empty until you provide the words and pictures. Have these ready:

• Your business description — who you are, what you do, in plain language
• List of services or products — with short descriptions and prices if you show them
• Photos — real ones of your work, team, or products (not just stock images)
• Contact details — phone, WhatsApp, email, office address, hours
• About text — your story, why you started, what makes you different

Don't worry about it being perfectly written. A developer or copywriter can polish it, but they can't invent it. If writing it feels hard, see my notes on website content that converts.

Sort out your brand basics

You don't need a full brand identity, but a few things help enormously:

• Logo — ideally a clean version with a transparent background (PNG or SVG)
• Colours — even just "our brand colour is this green" is fine
• Fonts — if you have a preference

If you don't have a logo, say so upfront. It's a small extra cost to sort one out, but discovering halfway through that there's no usable logo causes real delays.

Collect 3-5 examples you like

Send the developer links to websites you admire — they don't have to be in your industry. For each one, say why you like it: "I like how clean this is" or "I like the way this menu works."

Just as useful: show one or two sites you dislike and why. This saves both of you from guessing. Vague feedback like "make it pop" wastes everyone's time; concrete examples don't.

Decide your budget range (and be honest about it)

You don't have to reveal an exact figure, but knowing your own range matters. A developer will build very different things for ₦250,000 versus ₦2 million, and pretending you have no budget just leads to a quote you can't afford and a restart.

If you have no idea what's reasonable, read how much a business website should cost in Nigeria before you talk numbers. Going in informed protects you from both overpaying and from the trap of a cheap website that costs more later.

Handle your domain and hosting

If you already own a domain (like yourbusiness.com) and hosting, find your login details. If you don't, decide who's buying them — you or the developer. I generally recommend buying your domain yourself so you own it, not your developer.

Also get clear on email: do you want professional addresses like hello@yourbusiness.com? Decide now, because it affects your domain setup.

Name your decision-maker

This sounds small but it's huge. If three partners need to approve every colour and sentence, the project crawls. Pick one person who can give clear yes/no answers and gather feedback from the others. One voice to the developer keeps things moving.

Takeaway

The single biggest cause of slow, expensive website projects is an unprepared client. Spend a weekend gathering your content, logo, examples, budget range, and domain details, and appoint one decision-maker. Show up with that, and you'll get a better website, faster, for less money than someone who figures it out as they go.