The single biggest cause of delay in a consultant website project is missing materials, not design disagreements. Projects stall for weeks waiting on a headshot that was never taken, testimonials that were never collected, or a clear answer to "who is this actually for" that the consultant assumed they already had but hadn't written down anywhere. Gathering the right materials before the project starts can cut weeks off the timeline.
This preparation work isn't busywork. Each item below exists because it directly feeds into a decision the designer or copywriter has to make, and guessing at missing information produces a weaker result than working from the real thing, even when the guess is reasonable.
Table of contents
Your positioning statement, written down in one sentence
Photography, done properly and recently
Client proof: testimonials, results, and permissions
Your methodology or process, broken into named steps
Competitor sites you like and dislike, with reasons
Logistics: domain, existing content, and account access
FAQ
1. Your positioning statement, written down in one sentence
Before any design work begins, write down exactly who you help and what problem you solve for them, in one clear sentence. This sounds simple, but most consultants have never actually written it down, they've only ever said versions of it out loud in sales conversations, slightly differently each time depending on who they're talking to.
Having this nailed down before the project starts changes everything downstream. A designer working from "we help organizations improve" has to guess at tone, imagery, and structure. A designer working from "we help seed-stage SaaS founders fix broken pricing models before their Series A" knows immediately what kind of site this needs to be: direct, specific, probably more analytical than warm and fuzzy.
If you're not sure your positioning statement is sharp enough yet, that's worth resolving before the project starts rather than during it, since trying to nail down positioning at the same time as making visual design decisions tends to produce a worse result on both fronts than doing them in sequence.
2. Photography, done properly and recently
Have a professional headshot, taken within the last two years, ready before the project starts. A stretched, low-resolution photo pulled from an old LinkedIn profile undermines the credibility a well-designed site is trying to build, and waiting until mid-project to schedule a photoshoot is one of the most common sources of delay we see.
For consultants who present at events or work directly with teams, a few candid working photos, like a shot from a recent workshop or speaking engagement, add texture beyond a single static headshot and give a designer more to work with across different pages. These don't need to be elaborate, a few well-lit photos from a recent engagement are usually enough.
If you don't have strong photography and can't get it done before the project starts, flag this early with whoever you're hiring, since it directly affects what the homepage design can and can't lean on visually. A design built around the assumption of strong photography, then forced to work without it, usually looks noticeably weaker than one planned around what's actually available.
3. Client proof: testimonials, results, and permissions
Gather any testimonials, specific results, or client quotes you already have, along with explicit permission to use them publicly, before the project starts. Chasing down a client for a quote mid-project, or discovering a strong testimonial you have on file was never actually cleared for public use, both cause real delays.
If you don't have much written testimonial content yet, start reaching out to past clients now rather than waiting until the site is otherwise finished, since collecting this kind of proof properly takes real time, more than most consultants expect. We've written in detail about building this kind of testimonials and referral trust on a consulting website, and the quality of what you have ready going in directly shapes how strong that section of your new site can be.
Specific numbers matter more than general praise here. A testimonial that says "working with them increased our close rate by twenty percent" does far more work than one that says "they were great to work with," so if you're reaching out to past clients for new testimonials, ask directly for a specific result, not just a general endorsement.
4. Your methodology or process, broken into named steps
If you have a named framework or a repeatable process, write it out in distinct, numbered steps before the project starts, rather than leaving it in your head as something you'd explain differently depending on the conversation. A designer and copywriter can build a strong, visual representation of a clearly defined four-step process. They can't build one from a vague description of "it depends on the client."
This matters even if your process genuinely does vary by client, since most consulting engagements still follow a consistent underlying shape, like an initial diagnostic phase, a strategy phase, and an implementation phase, even if the specific activities within each phase shift. Naming that underlying shape gives your website something concrete to show, which matters because how you present your methodology is often one of the strongest trust-building sections on a consultant's entire site.
If you don't have a formalized process yet, this is worth thinking through before the project starts, even informally, rather than discovering mid-project that you've never actually articulated how you work beyond "I figure it out as I go," which is rarely true even when it feels that way.
5. Competitor sites you like and dislike, with reasons
Gather three to five websites, from direct competitors or just consultants you admire, that you specifically like, and three to five you specifically dislike, with a sentence of reasoning for each. This is one of the fastest ways to communicate taste and direction to a designer without needing design vocabulary yourself.
Vague feedback like "make it look premium" is hard for anyone to act on precisely. Pointing to a specific site and saying "I like how direct the homepage headline is here" or "this feels too corporate and cold for how I want to come across" gives concrete direction that a general adjective never quite captures.
This exercise also surfaces useful information about your actual market. If every site you admire comes from a completely different industry than consulting, that's worth discussing openly with your designer, since it might signal you want your site to stand out from typical consultant sites specifically, which is a legitimate strategic choice worth stating clearly rather than discovering by accident partway through the project.
6. Logistics: domain, existing content, and account access
Confirm you have access to your domain registrar and any existing website platform account before the project starts, since delays here are purely administrative but still cause real holdups. If someone else originally set up your domain or an old website, track down that access now rather than scrambling for it once the new site is ready to launch.
Gather any existing content worth keeping, like blog posts, case studies, or bios, even if they'll be rewritten, since having the raw material available saves time compared to recreating it from scratch. It's also worth deciding upfront whether you're keeping your current blog's URLs if you have one, since preserving those affects SEO in ways worth discussing with whoever's building the new site.
Finally, be clear about your own availability during the project, specifically how quickly you can turn around feedback and content requests. A project with fast, decisive feedback moves significantly faster than one where emails sit unanswered for a week at a time, regardless of whether you've chosen an agency, freelancer, or a solo studio to do the work.
The bottom line
Most of what determines whether a website project feels smooth or painful gets decided before the first design file is ever opened. The consultants who prepare these materials in advance aren't just saving time, they're giving the people building their site something real and specific to work from, which almost always shows up in a stronger finished result.
FAQ
Do I need a professional photographer, or can I use good phone photos?
A skilled photographer is ideal, but a recent, well-lit, high-resolution phone photo taken with intention can work as a reasonable substitute if a full shoot isn't feasible right now.
What if I don't have any testimonials yet?
Reach out to a handful of recent clients directly and ask for a specific, permission-cleared quote before the project starts. Even two or three strong ones are far better than none.
How detailed does my methodology need to be before I hand it over?
It doesn't need to be perfectly polished, but it should be written out in distinct steps rather than left as a loose mental model, since that structure is what a designer actually works from.
Is it okay if I don't have competitor examples ready?
It helps significantly, but isn't strictly required. If you skip this step, be ready to give more detailed verbal feedback during the design process instead, since it will take longer to land on the right direction without it.
How much time should I budget for gathering all of this before starting?
Most consultants can gather this in one to two focused weeks if they prioritize it, though testimonials and professional photography sometimes take longer to schedule and should be started as early as possible.
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