- Must Have Before Day 1: Access to your domain registrar (keep it under your own email), vector logo files, clear company contact details, and one appointed decision maker for feedback rounds.
- Must Have Before Design Sign-Off: Real team, space, or product photography (not blurry 200 KB WhatsApp exports) plus the exact 5–6 buyer questions your sales desk answers weekly.
- Can Wait Until Later: Extra blog posts, complex CRM integrations, or second-language expansion—launch core pages fast, then layer expansions cleanly.
1. Technical Access & Legal Ownership First
Verify where your domain (.ae, .com, or .co) lives before paying any studio deposit. In Dubai especially, many growing founders discover right before launch that a former IT freelancer registered the .ae domain under their personal email.
| Asset / Account | Who Should Own It | Why It Matters at Go-Live |
|---|---|---|
| Domain Registrar (.ae / .com) | Your Company Email | Grants DNS access to connect hosting, SSL, and branded Workspace/365 email without ransom delays. |
| Web Hosting / Shopify Account | Your Company Email | Keeps billing, backups, and payment payout settings securely tied to your entity. |
| Google Business Profile & Analytics | Your Company Email (Grant Agency Admin) | Ensures historical search rankings and ad pixel data remain yours permanently. |
2. Visual Assets That Actually Make a Website Look Expensive
Clean layout typography cannot carry dark, pixelated WhatsApp-compressed snapshots. Before design Week 1 starts, gather raw original files into one shared Drive folder:
- Editable Logo Vectors: Original
.SVG,.AI, or.EPSfiles rather than low-res screenshots taken off a letterhead. - High-Resolution Original Photos: Uncropped landscape (for hero headers and wide panels) and portrait (for doctor/team cards) originals shot by your photographer—not downloaded straight out of WhatsApp chat compression.
- Legal & Trust Credentials (UAE Specific): Trade licence entity name, Trakheesi ORN (for real estate), DHA/MOHAP permit slot details (for clinics), or Google Review links so trust badges stay 100% authentic.
3. You Do Not Need “Agency Copywriting” Prepared — Bring Real Facts
Clients frequently delay kickoff trying to write formal corporate paragraphs themselves. Do not stall for that. Instead, write down raw bullet points answering four grounded questions:
4. Assign One Final Decision Maker
Nothing drags a 3-week launch into 14 weeks faster than disjointed feedback: partner A reviews typography on Tuesday, partner B changes section order on Friday, and someone else asks to add three pages two days before launch. Collecting internal notes into one consolidated document per milestone round keeps quality crisp and budgets fixed.
Do not wait six weeks trying to pre-write twenty blog articles, shoot cinematic drone footage, or map out complex ERP webhooks before starting core design. Launch a strong, focused core website in 2–4 weeks first; start sending traffic cleanly, then expand blogs and automations in Phase 2.