When deciding to rebuild a corporate website or refresh a brand, many company project leads worry: “All we have internally is an old PowerPoint and scattered product spreadsheets. We have not written the full website copy word for word. Can we start the project yet?”

In fact, you do not need to finish every punctuation mark on every page before approaching a design team—a professional design studio such as JVDS will help you organize the information architecture and refine the content as part of its work. However, to keep the project from stalling midway while “waiting for a qualification certificate” or “waiting for the domain filing password,” we recommend gathering internal materials in advance around the following 4 modules before or around project initiation:

Branding

1. Business objectives and audience background (determining the website's direction)

  • The latest company introduction PowerPoint or sales brochure (Sales Deck): Even an older version is fine. It helps the design team quickly understand your core business, company history, and main selling points.
  • Target customer profiles and the top 5 frequently asked questions: Who buys your products—procurement staff, R&D professionals, or business owners? What are the 5 questions customers most often ask your sales team on the phone?
  • 3 competitor websites to benchmark and 2–3 visual references you like from other industries: Clearly note “what competitors do well and what they do less well.” This can greatly shorten the initial communication and alignment period.

Branding

2. Brand visuals and credibility assets (determining the quality and persuasiveness of the pages)

  • Existing brand source files: Vector logo files (.ai / .eps / .svg) and existing visual identity color and typography guidelines (not required if this project includes rebranding).
  • Original photography and a product image library: High-resolution product renders/white-background images, real photographs of factory workshops/offices, and portraits of the core team.
  • A credibility evidence package: A list of client logos approved for public display, background information on 3–5 representative projects, and scans of patent certificates/ISO certifications/industry awards.

Branding

3. IT infrastructure and compliance accounts (determining whether launch can happen on time)

  • Domain management access and ICP filing status: If using a .cn domain or hosting on a server in mainland China, confirm in advance that the domain has completed its Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ICP filing (a new filing usually takes 7–15 business days; we recommend submitting the filing application on the first day of design work).
  • Access to the old website's webmaster platforms and analytics: For a website redesign, prepare access to Baidu Search Resource Platform and Google Search Console in advance so the technical team can retrieve historical high-traffic URLs and preserve their SEO authority through 301 redirects.