Your project is about to start, and you have text in one place, photos in another, and a logo somewhere on an old laptop. This guide shows you how to organize website content so the Professional Website Services team can use it the first time you send it. By the end you will have a tidy set of documents, well-named images, and your brand assets ready to hand to your project manager.
Clear labels take the guesswork out of the build. Your file names may make sense to you, but the team has never seen your folders. Good organization means fewer questions and fewer wrong images on the wrong pages.
How to Organize Website Content Before Kickoff
Start with what the team has already asked of you. After you buy, InMotion Hosting emails you an intake questionnaire as part of onboarding. It covers your goals, brand assets, and designs you like. You also have a one-on-one call with your project manager, who stays your single point of contact for the whole project.
Your project manager is also the person to ask about how to send your files. Gather and label everything first, then follow their instructions for delivery. Not sure what your site needs yet? Read How to Define Website Goals Before Your Web Design Project first, because your goals decide which content you need.
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Prepare Your Text: One Document per Page
Separate documents show the team exactly which words belong on which page. Use a word processor such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
- Create one document for each page of your site.
- Give each document the same title as its page. A page called About gets a document called
About. - Mark each section heading in bold and in a larger font, so the team can see where one section ends and the next begins.
- Add notes for the team in the document, such as “put the phone number in the footer”. Comments or a short note at the top both work.
- Keep each page short. As a general guide, one to two pages of 12 point text per web page is plenty.
Visitors skim, so concise copy works better than long copy. If a page runs long, ask your project manager about options such as accordions (sections that expand when clicked) or splitting it into separate pages. Your page count, menus, and starter content are covered in How To Prepare For The Web Design Process. Text is only half of the job, so images come next.
Name and Select Your Images
A file name is the simplest way to tell the team where a picture goes. Name each file for its page and position.
- Name each image for the page it belongs on, such as
about-headshot.jpgorhome-banner.jpg. - Number images that belong in a sequence, such as a slider:
home-slider-1.jpg,home-slider-2.jpg. - Leave out spaces. Use hyphens or underscores instead, because spaces cause trouble in web addresses and file transfers.
- Send the highest-quality original you have. The team can shrink a large image, but nobody can add detail to a small one.
If you have no preference about where an image goes, say so and send a curated set rather than a whole folder. Around 10 to 15 strong images is a good general target. A dump folder slows the project and invites guesswork, and the team might pick a photo you forgot was in there.
Important: Only send images you have the right to use. Photos you took, images you bought a license for, and images from sources that allow commercial use are fine. Do not assume a picture you found through a search engine is free to use, even if it is easy to download.
Pick the Right Image Format
The file extension tells you how an image is built, and each format suits a different job. Match your image to the format in this table before you send it.
| Format | Best for |
|---|---|
| JPG | Photographs and other images with many colors and gradients |
| PNG | Graphics that need a transparent background or sharp edges, such as screenshots and charts |
| SVG | Logos and icons, because they stay sharp at any size |
| GIF | Simple animations |
| WebP | A modern format for photos and graphics |
Send your original files in the format you already have. Your project manager can tell you if anything else is needed. Your logo and brand files follow the same rule, so they come next.
Gather Your Logo and Brand Assets
Your logo appears on every page, so send the best version you have. A vector file, usually SVG, is ideal because it scales without blurring. If you only have a PNG or JPG, send the largest one.
Also send your brand colors (hex codes such as #1a73e8 are best) and the names of your brand fonts. If you already have a style guide, include it. Some plans, including the Custom Website Design Professional Site and Signature Site plans and the QuickSite plans, include a web or brand style guide. See Getting Started with Professional Website Services for what your plan includes. Once your assets are ready, you can send them.
Send Your Files to the Team
Ask your project manager how they want to receive files. Shared folder links, such as Google Drive or Dropbox, are common. Create one folder with a subfolder each for text, images, and brand assets, then share the link by replying to your project manager’s email thread.
If you need to share a password, for example for an image library, never put it in a plain email. Enter it in the InMotion Hosting password encryption tool, choose an expiration time, and share the expiring link it generates with your project manager.
What If You Do Not Have Content Yet?
You can still start. The team can create copy for you. Custom Website Design plans include AI-driven content, and the Site Rebuild and QuickSite plans include AI-generated copy. You review that copy during your revision rounds.
Note: Content creation takes time. A QuickSite is the fastest way to launch, especially when your content and images are ready at kickoff. If the team creates your content, the project takes longer.
Conclusion
You now know how to organize website content for your project. Your next step is to ask your project manager how they want to receive your files, then send them. For the rest of your preparation, read the Professional Website Services Product Guide. To start a project, contact the InMotion Hosting Sales team.