A website gets built as fast as its slowest piece of content arrives. Sort these things out before building a website and the design work can start the day you call.
The checklist, and why it sets your launch date
Our standard turnaround is 48-72 hours, but that clock starts once we have your content. The design is rarely the slow part. A logo file stuck with a printer who's since left the country, or a partner who hasn't signed off the services list, is.
None of it has to be polished. A shared folder or one long WhatsApp message with attachments works, as long as everything is in one place and one person can answer questions about it.
Gather these first:
- Your business name and activities exactly as they appear on the trade licence
- The original logo files, not a screenshot
- Photos of real work, staff or premises
- A list of services with prices or a starting price
- Contact details and opening hours, including Ramadan hours
- Domain login details and two or three websites you like
Start with the trade licence
Use the business name exactly as it's written on your trade licence somewhere on the site, usually in the footer or on the contact page. If you trade under a different name, show both. We do the same thing ourselves: Dubai Website Designers is a trading style of Global Web Marketing LLC, and the site says so.
Then look at the licensed activities. If your licence covers general maintenance but not pool construction, think twice before building a whole page around pool construction. It's worth checking with your licensing authority before you advertise work that isn't on the licence.
Not exciting. But a customer comparing your site with your licence or your invoices should see the same company.
Logo files and the photo question
A logo pulled from your Instagram profile is usually a small, fuzzy square. Ask whoever designed it for the originals, ideally an SVG, AI or EPS file, or a large PNG with a transparent background. If there's no logo yet, we design one for AED 499, and the Business package includes three concepts.
Photos need more thought than people give them. Stock photos are fine for backgrounds and general shots, and most of our packages include some. But someone looking at a fit-out company wants to see your fit-outs, not a model in a spotless hard hat.
If staff appear in the photos, ask them first. People leave, and a former employee who never agreed to be on your homepage is an awkward conversation.
Ten decent phone photos of real jobs will usually do more for enquiries than fifty stock images. Shoot in daylight and wipe the lens first. If you need filler shots on top of your own, our photo pack gives you 20 licensed photos for AED 149.
Services, prices and the hours people check
Write a few lines on each service you want on the site. Rough notes are fine as a starting point. If writing isn't your thing, copywriting is AED 399 and you just answer questions instead.
Think about the order, too. The service that brings in the most money should come first in the menu, even if it isn't the one you enjoy doing most.
Decide now whether to show prices. Some trades can't price without a site visit, and that's fair enough. But a starting price gives people a sense of scale and quietly filters out enquiries that were never going to fit your budget.
Opening hours trip up more businesses than anything else on this list. They change during Ramadan, and customers notice when the website says one thing and Google Maps says another. Give us both sets of hours, and decide who updates them each year. Eid is worth a line as well, since plenty of businesses close or shorten hours for several days. Our guide to getting your Google Business Profile right covers the Maps side.
On contact details, pick one number for calls and one for WhatsApp, or confirm they're the same. Plenty of UAE customers message before they ever ring, so the WhatsApp number has to be one somebody answers. There's more on that in using WhatsApp on your website.
And list the areas you cover. If you deliver to Dubai Marina but not Jebel Ali, the site should say so.
Domain access and examples you like
If you already own a domain, find out where it's registered and who has the login. This takes longer than you'd expect when the account was set up by a former employee years ago and the renewal emails go to an inbox nobody opens.
Business email is the login people forget. If your current email runs on that domain, tell us before anything changes, so nobody alters a setting that stops your inbox receiving mail on launch day.
No domain yet? The Special Web Offer, Premium and Business packages all include one free for the first year, so you can leave that to us. Compare what's included in each on our website packages.
Then send two or three websites you like, from any industry, with a line on why. I like how clean this is helps. So does I hate this green.
Twenty minutes on your competitors
Search for your main service plus your area, the way a customer would, and open the first few businesses that come up. Note what they show that you don't. Prices, a gallery of jobs, a booking option. Give the Google Maps results most of your attention, because that's where a lot of local customers start.
You're not copying them. You're checking you haven't left out something customers in your trade expect to find.
Read their Google reviews as well, and pay more attention to the complaints than the praise. If several people grumble about slow replies, putting your response time on your own site costs nothing.
Then note what they get wrong. A competitor with no WhatsApp button, or a contact form that goes nowhere, is a gap you can fill.
Once you've got most of this together, send it to info@dubaiwebsitedesigners.com or on WhatsApp, or call +971 52 292 3875 to book a free consultation. Missing a few pieces is fine, and we'll tell you which ones can wait.
Questions people ask
Can we start talking before all my content is ready?
Yes. The free consultation can happen first, but the 48-72 hour build time only starts once the content is in, so gaps push the launch back.
Is a site with only stock photos acceptable?
It works, but real photos of your own work, team or premises usually make people more likely to get in touch. A mix of both is common.
Do I need a finished logo first?
It helps, but it isn't required. We design logos for AED 499, and the Business package includes three logo concepts.
I don't know where my domain is registered. What now?
Search your email for renewal notices, which usually name the registrar. If that turns up nothing, send us the domain name and we'll take a look.
Should my website show Ramadan opening hours?
Yes, if your hours change. Update the website and your Google Maps listing at the same time so they match.