When I started building websites for small business clients, I kept making the same mistakes — not technical ones, but scope ones. Building things that weren't asked for. Missing things that were obvious to the client but not to me.
After enough projects I built a mental checklist. Here it is written out properly.
Before you write a single line of code
1. Who is updating this after launch?
This changes everything. If the client needs to update it themselves, you're probably reaching for a CMS. If it's you on retainer, you have more flexibility. Never assume.
2. What does success look like in 3 months?
"A nice website" isn't a goal. "More enquiries through the contact form" is. Tie your work to a measurable outcome so both sides know if it's working.
3. What does the client actually hate about their current site?
Ask this directly. The answer tells you more than a brief ever will.
During the build
4. Mobile first, always
Not as an afterthought. Start there. UK small businesses get the majority of their traffic on mobile and most of them don't know it.
5. Page speed is SEO
Core Web Vitals affect rankings. A slow site is actively hurting the client's business. Run Lighthouse before you call anything done.
6. Get content from the client early
Waiting on copy or photos at the end of a project is how timelines die. Get it in week one or build placeholder systems that make it easy to swap later.
At launch
7. Show them how to use it
A quick Loom walkthrough takes 10 minutes and eliminates 90% of the "how do I change X" messages.
8. Set up Google Analytics and Search Console
Even if they never look at it, having data from day one is valuable. You'll thank yourself six months in.
9. Write down what you built and why
Notes on what CMS, what host, what plugins, where the DNS is managed. Clients forget. You'll forget. Document it.
These aren't groundbreaking — but they're the things that separate a clean handoff from a messy one.
If you're a small business and want someone to handle this properly end to end, that's what I do at Tizzle → xandertaylor.org
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