Getting started
What to get ready before your website is built: a checklist
The details, photos and decisions that make a website build quicker and simpler, and the things that can safely wait until later.
The fastest website builds are the ones where the business owner has the basics ready. None of it needs to be polished: notes on your phone are fine. The clearer your details, the fewer questions go back and forth, and the simpler the site is to build.
The essentials
- Your business name, exactly as you want it written.
- One sentence on what you do and where. For example: "Garden maintenance across St Brelade and St Peter."
- Your services, as a simple list. Add prices if you are happy to publish them.
- Where you work: the parishes you cover, or your address if customers come to you.
- How to reach you: phone, email, WhatsApp, and which one you would rather customers used.
- Opening hours, if you keep fixed hours.
Helpful, but not essential
- Photos of your own work. Phone photos are fine: take them in daylight, hold the phone steady, and send the originals rather than screenshots.
- A Jersey setting. If you need a supporting location image, our free Jersey photo collection includes original coast and harbour views, with recorded camera dates and verified Pexels download links where available. Use your own current photographs for your premises, products and team.
- A logo, if you have one. If not, a clear business name in a good typeface works well on a first site.
- Two or three customer reviews, with the customers’ permission to quote them.
- The questions customers always ask. They make the best frequently asked questions section.
- A few websites you like, even from other trades, and what you like about them.
Decisions worth making early
- Your domain name. Choose it and register it in your own name. Our guide on .je or .co.uk helps you decide.
- A professional email address, such as hello@yourbusiness.je. It looks more established than a free address; see email and domain setup.
- A Google Business Profile. It is free and often matters as much as the website for local searches; see our local SEO guide.
- What the website must do. Get calls, take bookings, show your work or sell online: pick the one that matters most.
What a business website legally has to show
Most business websites need a privacy notice, clear business details and, if you use analytics or advertising cookies, a way for visitors to agree to them. Our guide to Jersey website legal requirements explains what applies to you.
What can wait
- A blog. Start one when you have something to say regularly.
- A long about page. A few honest lines about you are enough at launch.
- A big gallery. Add photos as you collect them.
Leaving these out keeps a first site small, which keeps the price down and gets you live sooner. Our builds start from £100, and a smaller site costs less than a larger one.
Want a checklist made for your business? The free website planner builds one from six quick questions, with the pages to include.
New to some of these terms? Our Jargon Buster explains website and marketing language in plain English.
Prefer to watch? Short videos on this
What makes a good homepage for a small business
How to write a good About page for your business
Photos that sell your business: 6 tips for better photos
Domain Name vs Website Hosting: 6 Things to Know
What Is DNS? A Plain-English Guide for Business Owners
How to Test a Website Contact Form: 6 Practical Checks
Show 40 more related videos
What Is a Call to Action? 6 Ways to Make the Next Step Clear
Website Caching Explained: Why You Might See an Old Page
What Is a CDN? Website Content Delivery Explained
JPEG, PNG, WebP or AVIF? Choosing Website Image Formats
Responsive Images Explained: Better Photos on Small Screens
What Is Lazy Loading? Faster Starts Without Missing Images
What Is a Staging Website? Testing Changes Before Launch
What Is a CMS? Editing Your Website Content Explained
Static vs Dynamic Websites: What the Terms Actually Mean
A Website Change Log: 6 Details Worth Recording After an Update
How to Report a Website Problem: 6 Details That Help Support
Website Wireframes Explained: Plan the Content Before the Visual Design
Website Prototypes Explained: Test an Idea Before Building the Service
Design Systems Explained: Shared Styles, Components and Guidance
Design Tokens Explained: Named Values That Keep Website Styles Consistent
UI Components Explained: Reusable Website Controls and Their States
Customer Journey Maps: Understand the Steps Around a Website Visit
Website Usability Testing: Learn by Watching People Attempt Real Tasks
Information Architecture Explained: Organise Website Content Around Real Needs
Website Content Audit: Decide What to Keep, Improve or Remove
UI and UX Explained: How the Interface Fits into the Customer Experience
User Stories Explained: Connect Website Work to a Real User Goal
Acceptance Criteria Explained: Agree How to Check Website Work Is Done
Restaurant Website Checklist: Help Guests Choose, Find and Book You
Charity and Club Website Checklist: Help People Join In and Find Support
Landing Pages Explained: Six Checks for a Focused Business Offer
Estate Agent Website Checklist: Help Visitors Find and Enquire About Property
Fitness Website Checklist: Help New Visitors Choose a Class or Trainer
Holiday Let Website Checklist: Help Guests Plan and Enquire About a Stay
Website Brand Refresh Checklist: Keep the Details Consistent After a Redesign
CSV Files Explained: Rows, Fields and a Reliable Import
XML Explained: Tagged Information and Agreed Data Formats
Markdown Explained: Headings, Lists and Links in Plain Text
MIME Types Explained: How a Website Identifies the Content It Sends
File Archives Explained: Packaging, Compression and the Files Inside
Character Encoding Explained: Why Text Can Display Incorrectly
Unicode Explained: A Shared Character Set for Names, Languages and Symbols
UTF-8 Explained: Unicode Text, Bytes and Consistent Encoding
Video Codecs Explained: The Encoded Picture Inside a Media File
Video Bitrate Explained: Data Rate, Picture Quality and Playback
Keep reading
Legal & compliance
What a Jersey business website has to show
Registering with the JOIC is a legal requirement with criminal consequences for ignoring it, and it costs £70 a year. That is the one most Jersey businesses miss.
Read guide → Getting startedDo you need a .je domain, or will .co.uk do?
A .je domain says "we are here" more clearly than anything else on your site. It also puts your details on a public record. Here is how to decide.
Read guide →
A Jersey setting
Choose a supporting local photograph
Use your own pictures for premises, products, staff and finished work. If a page also needs an island setting, our original Jersey photographs provide location views with clear dates, availability and links to the relevant download terms.
Explore our Jersey photographs