// WEBSITES

Small Business Website Checklist: What You Actually Need Before Hiring a Developer

Most small business owners go into a website project without a written list of what they want, what they have, and what they need. Here is the checklist we wish every client started with.

If you have ever talked to a web developer and felt like you did not have the right information to answer their questions, you are not alone. Most small business owners go into a website project without a written list of what they want, what they already have, and what they need.

This is the checklist we wish every client started with. Run through it before you call any developer, including us. It will save you time, money, and at least one awkward kickoff meeting.

What you are buying

A small business website should do three things:

Tell a visitor what you do inside three seconds.
Work flawlessly on the phone most of them are holding.
Give them one obvious thing to do next.

If a developer’s pitch does not anchor on those three outcomes, ask them to explain how their proposal achieves them. The answer tells you a lot.

Decide what you actually need

Before you ask for a quote, write down which of these you need. The honest answer is usually a short list, not a long one.

A homepage that explains what you do
Service or product pages
A contact form that emails you
A booking, scheduling, or quote-request flow
A blog or news section
An online store
A login portal for customers or staff
Search engine optimization (SEO) basics
Analytics so you can see what is happening
Email setup tied to your domain

The more of these you do not need, the cheaper and faster the build.

Inventory what you already have

Most small businesses have more than they think. Before the kickoff call, find out:

Do you own your domain name? (See Who Owns Your Domain.)
Where is your domain registered? GoDaddy? Namecheap? Bluehost?
Where is your current website hosted, if you have one?
Do you have access to your current site’s admin, or did the last developer disappear with the password?
Do you have a logo file (ideally an SVG) or do you need one?
Do you have brand colors, fonts, or a style guide?
Do you have photos of your business, your team, or your work? Stock photos?
Do you have copy for your services, or does it need to be written?
Do you have a Google Business Profile? (See Website or Google Business Profile.)

If you cannot find a domain login, that is the first problem to solve. Trying to build a website without owning your own domain is a slow disaster.

Set a real budget and timeline

Two things developers cannot honestly answer without:

A budget range. Not a number you are afraid to share. Just a range.
A timeline. ASAP, within 30 days, 1 to 3 months, 3+ months.

If a developer refuses to give you a price until you have spent an hour on a discovery call, that is a sign. (We wrote a whole post on why we publish our prices instead of hiding them.)

Decide who is responsible for what

After launch, someone has to:

Renew the domain
Renew the SSL certificate
Keep the hosting paid
Apply security patches
Back up the site
Edit copy and images when something changes
Fix it when something breaks at 9 p.m. on a Sunday

Small business owners often assume the developer is doing all of this. Most are not, unless you are paying for a Care Plan or maintenance retainer. Decide which side of that line you want to be on before you sign anything.

Questions to ask your developer

Before you hire anyone, ask these out loud:

Will I own my domain, hosting, and code?
What does the price include and what does it not include?
What happens 30 days after launch if I find a bug?
Who patches and maintains the site after launch?
Can I edit my own content without calling you?
How fast does the page load on a phone? (See What “Fast” Actually Means.)
What happens if I want to leave you for another developer next year?

Their answers tell you whether you are buying a website or buying a relationship with a vendor who hopes you never leave.

What we do at Newtons Tech

We build websites and web apps for small businesses, with published pricing and a written scope before any work starts. Hosting, domain help, security, and ongoing edits are bundled into a monthly Care Plan, so the technical side stays handled. One developer, one number, one person who answers the phone.

If you want help walking through this checklist for your specific business, start a project and we will reply, usually the same day.