A website content handover checklist should connect every page to its approved copy, images, factual source and decision-maker. Record what is missing and who will resolve it. A folder full of files is useful only when the design team knows which file belongs where and which version is approved.
This collection exercise comes after the broad website direction is agreed. Its purpose is practical: get usable inputs into the hands of the people building the pages.
Build the page inventory before sending files
Start with the agreed page list. For each page, create a record containing its purpose, copy location, image references, supporting evidence, content owner, approver and status. Use plain status labels such as “not supplied,” “draft,” “in review” and “approved.”
Keep “approved with changes” out of the final handover unless the required changes are explicitly recorded. Otherwise one person may treat the file as complete while another expects a rewrite.
A worked content collection workshop
Imagine a fictional business that supplies office furniture. Its website includes a homepage, a workspace planning service page, an about page and a contact page. The records below demonstrate what a useful inventory reveals.
Homepage: approved facts, missing image
- Purpose: help office buyers understand the offer and find the relevant service
- Copy source: the approved company overview and service summaries
- Owner: marketing coordinator; factual approver: business owner
- Assets: current logo supplied; wide workspace photograph still needed
- Status: copy approved, photography pending
The useful follow-up is a specific image request, including the intended crop and permissions. Asking everyone to “send more pictures” creates another sorting job.
Service page: attractive copy, unresolved scope
The draft describes workspace planning, furniture selection and installation. Operations confirms the first two but says installation varies by project. Record the disputed sentence and its owner rather than handing it to the designer as finished copy.
Add the actual inputs a buyer should provide, the usual decision stages and any confirmed exclusions. Remove unsupported promises while the business clarifies them. A polished paragraph cannot substitute for an approved service description.
About page: factual evidence required
The supplied document includes an old team list and an award reference without supporting material. Ask the relevant business contact to verify current roles and evidence. Until then, mark those items as unapproved. Do not turn stock photography into an apparent team photograph.
Contact page: check the operational details
Record the public phone number, enquiry destination, genuine address where applicable, opening information and preferred contact action. Ask the person receiving enquiries to review the page. They may spot obsolete contact details that other reviewers recognise but no longer use.
Organise assets around decisions
Choose one shared location and keep a clear approved set. Give images descriptive filenames linked to their intended page, and retain the original files separately from web exports. Record the creator, licence or permission information alongside each asset. The collection sheet should explain any restriction on its use.
For images, include a short note describing what they contribute to the page. W3C's image alternative-text decision tree distinguishes meaningful images from purely decorative ones. That context helps the person implementing the page choose appropriate text alternatives; a filename alone cannot make that decision.
Close the handover with a missing-item list
Review the inventory with the delivery team and separate blockers from later improvements. If a service page lacks confirmed scope, that is a content decision. If a supplementary image is missing, the team may agree a text-led layout. Neither decision should be left implicit.
Use a short missing-item record: page, missing input, person responsible, effect on the page and agreed next action. When an item arrives, update the status and link the approved version. Keep superseded files out of the approved folder without destroying source material the business still needs.
Finally, ask the recipient to confirm that the files open, links work and image permissions are understandable. Successful upload is only the beginning of a useful handover.
Use an approval trail that survives revisions
For the fictional furniture business, imagine the operations manager approves a service paragraph and the marketing coordinator later changes “delivery options discussed by location” to “delivery available everywhere.” The second version is easier to read, but it changes the factual claim. The approval status must return to review.
Agree which changes need another factual check. Replacing an outdated contact number, expanding a service area or adding a guarantee changes meaning. Correcting punctuation usually does not. Keep the approved version identifiable, and record who confirmed substantive changes.
A practical version note might say: “Service copy, revision three: installation paragraph corrected; operations approval pending.” That is more informative than several files called “final” with different suffixes. The specific naming convention matters less than everyone using it consistently.
Prepare a complete page packet
Before marking a page ready, put its working materials together:
- The approved text, with headings and button wording clearly identified
- The selected images, their intended placements and any crop restrictions
- Verified facts or source references for claims that require checking
- The destination of each requested link or download
- The name of the person who can answer remaining questions
For the contact page, this might include the exact public telephone number, enquiry destination and agreed acknowledgement. For a service page, it might include a confirmed description of the work and the approved next-step wording. Collecting these details together makes review more precise.
If the business has not approved its logo or visual identity, raise that dependency with the branding work. If the project includes search-focused content decisions, clarify the role of SEO services before asking a designer to invent page topics or claims. These are scope questions, not automatic additions to the build.
Handle a missing asset without hiding it
Suppose the homepage photograph will not be available for the first design review. Record that fact and ask the designer to show a text-led alternative or a clearly identified review-only composition. Do not let a temporary stock photograph become an apparent image of the business's premises.
The approved handover should distinguish material ready for publication from material used only to demonstrate a layout. Give temporary assets an explicit replacement or removal decision. Before launch, review the actual page rather than assuming the inventory's latest status reached the person implementing it.
Common collection mistakes
Sending screenshots of paragraphs makes editing harder than supplying editable copy. Sending every photograph from a shoot transfers selection work without explaining priorities. Sending a brochure without identifying outdated passages leaves factual decisions unresolved. In each case, improve the handover by identifying the intended use, current status and responsible owner.
Finish with a short acceptance review: the recipient opens the packet, identifies the approved version and explains what still needs a decision. Any disagreement becomes a specific missing item rather than another broad request for “all content.”
Frequently asked questions
Can I send the existing brochure as website content?
Use it as a source. Identify which facts remain current and which passages answer a specific website visitor question. Print layouts and website page structures may need different treatment.
Who approves technical service details?
The person responsible for delivering that service should verify the facts. A marketing editor can then improve clarity without changing the meaning.
Should every image have its own description?
Record its intended purpose and visible subject. The final alternative text depends on how the image is used in the page, including whether nearby text already communicates the same information.
What if several people edit the same copy?
Nominate one owner to consolidate feedback and one approver to settle conflicts. Send the delivery team an identifiable approved version.
Plan your next project with Tralionex
Use your inventory when discussing website development with Tralionex. Identify the copy and assets you will supply, then agree any requested writing, image selection and content preparation in the project scope.
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