Planning a new website — or trying to choose the right agency to build one — is harder than it should be. Most of what’s out there is either too technical, too vague, or quietly written to sell you something.
So we put together something different: a free, vendor-neutral guide that walks you through exactly what to think about before you spend a single dollar on a website. No sales pitch, no jargon — just the questions, checklists and comparisons we wish more business owners had in hand before they started.
What’s inside
The guide is organized into four parts that follow the natural order of a real website project:
Part 1 — Plan Why a website matters more than ever, how to define its purpose, which type of website actually fits your business, what a modern site can realistically do for you, and a full checklist of pages worth considering.
Part 2 — Prepare The content you need to gather before anyone starts designing, a complete features checklist, how lead generation actually works on a website, catalog vs. full e-commerce, and booking & appointment systems.
Part 3 — Evaluate What “SEO included” really means (and doesn’t), the technical basics worth checking, 26 questions to ask any agency before you sign anything, who should own your domain and hosting, and what you’re actually paying for.
Part 4 — Launch A pre-launch quality checklist, a before/after launch checklist, a printable scorecard for comparing up to three agencies side by side, the red flags worth watching for, and a one-page summary to tie it all together.
Who it’s for
Business owners who are about to build a website for the first time, or who have been burned before and want to get it right this time. Whether you’re planning to hire an agency or brief an in-house team, this guide gives you a shared, practical vocabulary for the conversation.
Get your copy
It’s free, it’s short enough to actually read, and it’s built to be used — print it, tick the boxes, bring it to your next agency call.