Content readiness checklist
The content checklist to complete before a website build starts: page copy, images and licensing, brand basics, legal pages, and the approval map, with owners per item.
15 checks · copy it, print it, argue with it.
The most common launch delay is not code, it is content arriving late, incomplete, or unlicensed. This checklist is completed before the build starts; every item has an owner and a date. It pairs with the brief template (which decides what content is needed) and the working method (which treats content deadlines as project milestones).
Copy
- Page-by-page copy ownership assigned: who writes each pageName a person, not a department
- Homepage message drafted: what you do, for whom, why you
- Legal pages exist or commissioned: privacy, terms, refunds where applicable
- Proofread pass scheduled by someone who did not write it
Images and media
- Logo files: vector original plus exports, favicon source
- Photos gathered with licenses verified, no grabbed-from-Google images
- Product/service photography consistent (lighting, background)
- Video: hosted externally (not on the web server), captions planned
Brand and structure
- Sitemap approved: the page list, in the hierarchy
- Tone documented in two sentences enough to judge copy against
- Contact points decided: email addresses, WhatsApp number, hours
- Social/profile links inventoried
Approvals
- One named approver per content typeCommittees do not approve; they revise forever
- Approval deadlines on the project calendar, content is a milestone, not a favor
- Late-content consequence agreed in advance (phased launch, placeholder pages)
The uncomfortable statistic from builds everywhere: content is the last thing people prepare and the first thing that delays launch. Finish this list before day one and the build timeline is real. The brief template references this checklist directly.
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