How to Prepare Content Before Building a Website - A Client's Guide

When a business owner from Novi Sad or Belgrade signs a contract with a web agency, the first question they ask is usually 'how long will it take'. The honest answer is - that depends on you. In practice, 70 to 80 percent of projects run late not because of design, programming or technical issues, but because of content the client hasn't prepared on time. The designer waits for text, the developer waits for images, the SEO specialist waits for service descriptions. Everything stops until the content arrives, and a one-month project quietly turns into three. As a Novi Sad-based agency that has been through hundreds of these projects, this guide shows exactly what you should prepare before work starts, in what format, and how to organize it all so the project runs without delays.

Short list - what to prepare before work starts

Before we go into details, here's a clear list of what you should have ready before the first meeting with the agency:

• Text for all pages of the site (or at least solid drafts) - headings, subheadings and body copy
• Logo in vector format (SVG, AI or EPS) - not a JPG screenshot from a Facebook page
• Professional or at least decent photos of the business, team, premises and products
• A clear list of services or products with descriptions and prices if they're public
• Core company info - address, phone, email, business hours, tax ID and company registration number
• Social media links and active profiles you want on the site
• Existing brand colors and fonts if you have brand guidelines
• Access to the domain and hosting if they already exist, or approval for the agency to buy new ones
• Google Analytics, Search Console and other accounts if you're already using them

If this list looks long - it is. That's exactly why it's better to start preparing weeks before signing the contract, not the day after. The rest of the guide breaks down each of these items - how much text you actually need, what format to send images in, and how to avoid the typical mistakes that cost clients time.

Why content preparation slows the project down

The agency can't 'invent' your business for you. We can design, build, optimize and advise - but we can't know what your services are called, what your hourly rate is, who your team members are and what the story behind your business is. That part has to come from you. When a client says 'you write the copy, I'll just review it', one of two things usually happens - either the text turns out generic because the agency doesn't have enough info, or the work and cost double because the copywriter has to interview the client for a week.

The more info you prepare upfront, the faster, cheaper and closer-to-your-vision the project will be. Clients who come with ready-made text and photos often get the site in 3 weeks; those who start empty-handed wait 2 to 3 months. The difference isn't in the agency, it's in the preparation.

Text - exactly what to prepare per page

Text is usually the biggest bottleneck. Most clients underestimate how many words a site actually needs. Here's a realistic breakdown - how much text per page we expect from the client before design starts:

If you're not sure which pages you even need, see our guide on the essential pages every website should have - there we broke down in detail what every business site must include and which pages are legally required in Serbia.

Who writes the text - you, the agency or someone else

There are three scenarios and each makes sense in different cases. The best result usually comes from a combination.

• You write it yourself - cheapest and most authentic if you have the time and patience to sit with the copy. We recommend this for small businesses that know their work better than anyone else
• The agency writes it - more expensive, but faster and more consistent. Good for clients short on time, but requires at least 2-3 hours of interviews so the text stays concrete
• A freelance copywriter - the middle option. Fees range from 50 to 150 euros per page of quality text, and this usually only pays off for the key pages (home, about, services)

Our practical advice - you write a rough draft, no matter how raw, then let the agency or copywriter polish it. That way you don't lose your authentic voice but still get smoother text. Don't spend two weeks trying to write 'perfect' copy - it doesn't exist, and it's not as important as you think.

Visual materials - logo, photos, video

After text, images are the second biggest source of delays. Most clients send us the logo as a 400-pixel JPG screenshot from their Facebook page and expect it to look sharp on a 4K screen. It doesn't - and that's where the problem starts.

Here's what we actually need in terms of visual materials:

• Logo in vector format - SVG, AI (Adobe Illustrator) or EPS. If you don't have a vector, contact the designer who created it - the vector exists somewhere
• Logo variations - full version, short version (symbol only), light version for dark backgrounds and dark version for light backgrounds
• Photos of your premises - shop, office, salon - minimum 2000 pixels wide, clean and not too noisy
• Team photos - each person individually plus at least one group shot, all in a similar style and lighting
• Photos of products or work results - cleanly lit, without background clutter
• Photos in action - you or your team actually doing the work, not posed stock photos
• Video material if you have it - short clips (10-30 seconds) bring the site to life and can be used as background video

If you don't have good photos - invest in a photographer before the site is built. A day of a professional photographer in Novi Sad costs between 150 and 400 euros, and that investment pays back many times over. A site with stock photos looks like any other site; a site with real photos of your business looks like your business.

Brand elements - colors, fonts, tone of voice

If you already have brand guidelines, send the agency the whole document. If you don't, prepare at least the basics - primary and secondary brand color in HEX (e.g. #FF6B35), primary and secondary font if you already use any, and a few examples of communication that reflects your tone (professional-formal, friendly, direct, witty).

If you don't have any of that - that's fine, the agency will propose something. But think ahead about what you like - save 5 to 10 examples of sites that feel aesthetically right to you, regardless of their industry. This saves days of guessing at the start of the project.

Company info - formal details that must be accurate

The part that sounds trivial but eats time when done at the last minute. Prepare exactly the following:

• Full legal name of the company - as registered with the business registry, with all suffixes (LLC, sole trader, agency)
• Tax ID and company registration number - required in the impressum and privacy policy in Serbia
• Full registered address - street, number, city and postal code
• Contact phone - landline and/or mobile, preferably multiple numbers if you have multiple channels
• Email address - preferably on your own domain (info@yourcompany.rs), not a Gmail account
• Business hours - by day, with clear notes for holidays and weekends
• Business form - LLC, sole trader, foreign entity - for invoicing and tax purposes
• Bank account if you display payment details - account number and bank name

This info goes into the impressum, privacy policy, terms of use and contact page. The agency won't ask you for the tax ID three times if you sent it right away - but it will if it has to extract it from you every time.

Services and products - how to describe them to clients, not to yourself

This is where most clients make the same mistake - they write service descriptions from the 'what we do' angle instead of 'what the client gets'. For every service or product you plan to present, prepare:

• The name of the service as you call it internally - and as a potential client calls it when searching on Google (not always the same)
• The problem the service solves - 2-3 sentences from the client's angle, not a technical description
• What the client actually gets - a concrete outcome, not a process (not '2-hour consultation', but 'a clear plan for the next 6 months')
• How the process runs - 3-5 steps from first contact to completion
• The price or a rough range - if transparent, always include it; if not, at least an indication ('starting at X euros')
• Delivery time - 'you see results in a week' or 'the whole project runs 4-6 weeks'
• Guarantees or what sets your service apart from the competition

If you have 10 services, fill out this list for each. It looks demanding, but that's exactly the material the agency uses to write quality service pages - instead of generic 'we offer professional services at competitive prices', you get concrete content that converts visitors into clients.

Legally required content for websites in Serbia

The part most clients don't think about in time, which is legally mandatory. In Serbia every business site must have:

• Privacy policy - required under the Personal Data Protection Act, must be aligned with GDPR if you work with EU clients
• Terms of use - especially important for sites with a shop or user accounts
• Cookie notice - a notice about cookies that the user must actively accept before non-essential cookies are set
• Impressum - for online shops it mandatorily includes tax ID, company registration number, bank account and business activity
• Returns and complaints - mandatory for e-commerce sites under the Consumer Protection Act

Don't copy these texts from other sites - not only is copyright an issue, but they rarely fit your specific situation. Prepare the basic info (what data you collect, how you use it, who you share it with) and leave it to the agency or a lawyer to write the proper version. A detailed guide on the privacy policy is in our dedicated privacy policy article.

Technical info - domain, hosting, email

Prepare answers to the following technical questions before the first meeting. If you don't know the answer, that's fine - just tell the agency you don't know, so they can recommend the best solution.

• Do you already have a domain - which one, with which registrar, and do you have access to the control panel (DNS)
• Do you already have hosting - with whom, which plan, and will you be changing it
• Do you already have business email - Gmail Workspace, Microsoft 365, or regular mailboxes on hosting
• Google Analytics - do you have an account, do you have access, are you using GA4 (mandatory version since 2023)
• Google Search Console - do you have a verified site (if an old site exists)
• Facebook Business Manager / Meta Pixel - if you plan to run ads
• Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube - which accounts are active and which links go to the site

If you have none of this - that's perfectly fine. The agency will open all accounts and register the domain. But if you already have them and don't send access, the agency can't even deploy the site. One of the most common delays is waiting for the client to find the password for a domain they bought 5 years ago.

SEO content - keywords and meta descriptions

If ranking on Google matters to you (and it should, if you're building the site for business), think about the SEO side too before design starts. Prepare:

• A list of 5-10 keywords you want to target - phrases people actually type into Google, not industry jargon
• Local variants if you work in a specific city - 'hairdresser Novi Sad', 'lawyer Belgrade', 'handyman Nis'
• Names of competitors who rank well - this gives the agency a reference point
• Topics you plan to cover through the blog over the next 6 months (if you're planning a blog)

SEO strategy is best defined at the very start, while the site architecture is still being built - not after, as is often the case. If you have no idea what to look for, our SEO optimization service includes keyword research as the first step, and we do that part before the designer starts sketching.

Common client mistakes in content preparation

In the last few years working with clients from Novi Sad, Belgrade and the region, the same mistakes keep showing up. Here are the ones that cost the most time:

• Sending text in a Word document with mixed fonts, colors and sizes - send plain text, the designer handles the formatting
• Waiting for the text to be 'perfect' before sending it - it's always better to send a raw version and refine it later than to send nothing for 2 months
• Photos as email thumbnails - use WeTransfer, Google Drive or Dropbox to send the original files
• Logo only as JPG - always get the vector (SVG, AI, EPS), even if you have to pay the designer for it
• A list of services that differs from reality - sending 10 services when you really only do 4; the site must show what you actually deliver
• Hesitating about prices - if prices are public, send them right away; if not, say clearly 'prices on request' instead of leaving the agency to guess
• Changing direction after 60% of the project is done - 'can we also add an online shop' is expensive once the design is finished
• Writing text for yourself instead of for clients - use the words your clients use, not your industry's jargon

How to organize content and send it to the agency

Once you have everything gathered, the way you deliver the content matters too. The best approach is to create a single Google Drive or Dropbox folder with a clear structure - and share access with the agency there.

• Create a main folder 'Website Content' with subfolders: Text, Images, Logo, Legal, Technical
• Inside Text - one Google Doc per page, not one huge document for everything
• Inside Images - subfolders per page (Home, About, Services, Portfolio) or by type (Team, Premises, Products)
• Inside Logo - all formats (SVG, transparent PNG, JPG, light/dark variations)
• Inside Legal - tax ID, registration number, data for the impressum, current privacy policy versions if they exist
• Inside Technical - passwords for domain, hosting, Google Analytics, access to social media (use a Google Doc marked 'confidential' or a password manager)

This system looks bureaucratic, but it saves days. An agency that gets a clean folder can start work immediately; one that gets things in 15 emails from 3 different addresses spends hours just looking for materials.

Realistic preparation timeline - when to start

Preparing content takes longer than you think. Realistically plan for:

• Small business (up to 10 pages, 1-2 services): 2-3 weeks of active preparation before the project starts
• Medium business (10-20 pages, multiple services): 3-5 weeks - includes a photo shoot and time for writing
• Larger business or e-commerce (20+ pages, 50+ products): 6-10 weeks running in parallel with the agency
• Launching a blog: an additional 2-4 weeks for the first 5-10 articles before going live

Don't wait to sign the contract and then start preparing content. The moment you decide to build the site, start gathering material - even before you choose the agency. That month of parallel work can turn a 4-month project into a 6-week one.

Practical advice for businesses in Novi Sad and Serbia

As a Novi Sad-based agency that works with clients from Vojvodina, Belgrade and the region, the advice we give to every new client is the same - invest more time in preparing content than in choosing the agency. Two months of careful content preparation delivers a better site than the most expensive agency working with incomplete materials.

If you're not sure where to start, book a free consultation - in 45 minutes of conversation we usually manage to put together a precise list of what you need, in what quantity and in what format. Have a look at our website packages and pricing to see what's included in each package and how much content we expect from you for each type of project. For bespoke sites we use custom website development which is especially flexible when it comes to the amount of content.

Conclusion

Good content preparation is the best way to make sure the site is finished on time, on budget and close to what you envisioned. Two months of serious preparation - writing text, gathering images, collecting info - is worth more than any extra week of agency work. The more info you prepare upfront, the more authentic the result, the shorter the project, and the easier your role in it.

If you're planning a website and aren't sure where to start with content preparation, get in touch - in a free consultation we'll walk through your business together and build a concrete content list tailored to your industry and project scope.