Over the last few years I have worked on websites big and small primarily either in a freelance capacity or client side as part of, or managing, a team effort.

There’s a universal draw for businesses, perhaps justifiedly so, to launch a site rapidly upon startup or when a need arises suddenly. It’s fantastic that we finally live in a time where decision makers are quick to realise the power of the Internet as a marketing and a commercial tool. It’s also fantastic that this level of technology is so democratised that businesses of all shapes and sizes can put together high quality materials for the web, affordably and with scalability.

The key term I mentioned above is ‘rapidly’. Rapid deployment is one of the first things to come up in most initial client meetings from my experience. I will normally give a client a basic timeline with milestones for a project based upon an initial consultation and when a project spec has been firmed up. It can be difficult not to overcommit on this, especially if one really big factor is unresolved within the first stages of getting a project underway.

That factor, you guessed it, is content.

Many business people I suspect have had the need for a website rammed down their throat for so long that they have accepted the prospect and launched into it without asking themselves what on earth they’re going to say.

There are some classic business questions that are essential to answer in order to build an effective site, whatever your requirements are. That means tackling questions like: “What does your business do?” or “What are your key advantages over your competitors” and simply “What’s your USP?”

These look like rather basic questions but I have often worked with clients doing business across a range of sectors, with several core products and working in highly competative markets where a clear USP is difficult to flesh out. Add to this a requirement for these answers to be short and effective, and we often have quite a substantial chunk of work.

I’d say that helping clients come to answers for these questions that they end up happy with is actually one of the most rewarding elements of my career to date. It can also help give me a far greater insight into what the client wishes to achieve and communicate with their site than any briefing document ever has.

But for pure cost effectiveness and to genuinely achieve rapid deployment, coming to the table with at least the essential barebones of content prepared is going to let your designer focus on what they really do best.