How to Estimate Website Content Before Requesting Development

Before requesting a website from a developer, you need more than a business name and a few design ideas. You need a realistic estimate of the content the website will contain.

Content includes pages, written copy, photographs, videos, documents, products, news posts, forms and other information visitors will use. Estimating these items early helps you explain what you want, compare development proposals and avoid unexpected work during the project.

This is especially important for organisations serving Nigerian audiences, where a website may need to work well on mobile phones, explain services clearly and support visitors with different levels of digital experience.

What does website content include?

Website content is not limited to blog articles. It includes almost everything a visitor reads, views or interacts with.

• Static pages: Home, About, Services, Contact, Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
• Service or product information: Descriptions, prices where applicable, specifications, delivery details and frequently asked questions.
• Editorial content: News articles, guides, tutorials, football updates or educational resources.
• Media: Logos, photographs, illustrations, videos, audio files, PDFs and downloadable documents.
• Interactive content: Contact forms, search, calculators, quizzes, account areas, comments and subscription forms.
• Administrative content: Categories, tags, author profiles, menus, redirects and content that staff will update later.

A developer may interpret “a website with services and a blog” very differently from you. A content estimate turns that broad description into a project the developer can understand.

Start with the website’s purpose

First, write down what the website must help people do. Do not begin with colours, animations or a list of competitors. Begin with the visitor’s main task.

For example, a digital information platform might need to help readers find news, follow football updates, read technology guides and discover practical information. A web development or online service business may instead need to generate enquiries, display its services and allow clients to request support.

Ask these questions:

• Who will use the website?
• What information will they look for first?
• What action should they take?
• Which content must be available at launch?
• Which content can be added after launch?

Your answers will prevent the project from becoming a collection of attractive pages without a clear function.

Build a page inventory

Create a simple list of every page you expect at launch. Group similar pages together rather than listing only broad sections.

A small service website might contain:

• Home
• About
• Services
• Individual pages for web development, hosting and online shopping support
• Portfolio or case studies
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Contact
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

A content-led platform may need a different structure:

• Homepage
• News category
• Football category
• Technology and how-to categories
• Jobs and scholarships categories
• Travel or immigration guides
• Author pages
• Search results
• Article pages
• Newsletter or subscription pages

For each page, record its purpose, approximate word count, images required and whether it will be updated regularly.

Separate launch content from future content

Many website projects become unnecessarily expensive because every possible future idea is treated as a launch requirement. Separate your plan into three groups:

1. Essential at launch: Content and functions needed for the website to operate properly.
2. Useful soon after launch: Improvements that can be added once the basic website is working.
3. Possible later features: Ideas that need more research, funding or user feedback.

For example, a new information website may launch with a homepage, key categories, search and a manageable publishing system. A mobile application, member account system or advanced personalisation feature might be planned for a later phase.

This approach makes it easier to request a practical first quotation instead of paying for features that may not yet be necessary.

Estimate written content realistically

Word count affects writing, editing, design and publishing time. You do not need an exact number, but you should provide a useful range.

For each page, estimate whether it needs:

• A short introduction of about 100 to 250 words
• A standard information page of about 300 to 700 words
• A detailed guide of about 800 to 1,500 words or more
• Repeated entries, such as product descriptions or articles

Also state who will supply the text. You may provide finished copy, supply rough notes for editing, or ask the developer or a separate writer to create it. Website development and content writing are related but different jobs, so clarify whether writing is included in the request.

For a website serving beginners, content should be clear, well-structured and easy to scan. Short paragraphs, descriptive headings and direct instructions are often more useful than dense blocks of technical language.

Count repeated content separately

Repeated content can be more significant than the main pages. A website with ten service pages is not the same project as one with three pages and a continually updated library of hundreds of articles.

Estimate:

• How many products, services or locations will be listed?
• How many articles or resources will be uploaded before launch?
• How often will new content be published?
• Will each item have its own page?
• Will visitors search, filter or sort the items?
• Will old information need editing, archiving or redirecting?

If the website will publish news, football information, tutorials or opportunities, discuss the publishing workflow. The requirements may include categories, authors, featured images, scheduled publishing, related articles and search. These details affect the content management system and the amount of administration required.

List the media and documents you have

Make an inventory of available visual and downloadable material. Do not assume that a developer will create or supply everything.

Record whether you have:

• A logo in a usable format
• Brand colours and fonts
• Staff or business photographs
• Service, product or location images
• Videos and audio files
• Brochures, price lists or application documents
• Permissions to use third-party images

Large images and videos may need preparation before upload so that pages remain usable on mobile networks. If visitors may access the website with limited data or slower connections, ask about image compression, responsive layouts and suitable media formats.

Describe features in plain language

A feature estimate should explain what users need to do, not just name a technology.

Instead of writing “I need an advanced website,” write:

“Visitors should be able to search articles by keyword, browse categories, open an article, share its link and contact the editorial team through a form.”

For an online shop, specify whether visitors need product search, delivery information, payment, order notifications, customer accounts or stock management. For a hosting or web service business, specify whether the website only collects enquiries or connects to an existing customer management system.

Also identify who will manage each feature. A form that sends enquiries to email has different requirements from a dashboard where staff log in and manage submissions.

Use a simple content estimation table

Before contacting a developer, prepare a table like this:

The numbers do not need to be perfect. A transparent estimate is more useful than a vague promise that the website will contain “everything needed”.

Check content responsibilities before approving a quote

Ask the developer to state clearly what is included. Important questions include:

• How many pages will be designed and populated?
• Is content writing, editing or migration included?
• Who enters articles, products or other repeated items?
• Are images, image licensing and image optimisation included?
• Which forms, integrations and user accounts are covered?
• Who provides legal and policy text?
• How many revisions are allowed?
• What happens if the content quantity increases?
• Who will update the website after launch?

Do not assume that hosting, domain registration, maintenance, backups and content updates are automatically included in development. Request these as separate items where necessary so you can compare proposals fairly.

A practical final check

Before sending your request, open your page inventory on a phone and review it as a first-time visitor. Can someone quickly understand what the website offers? Can they find the most important information? Are the text, images and documents actually available?

Then mark every item as ready, needs editing or not yet available. This gives the developer a more accurate picture of the project and shows which delays may come from missing content rather than technical work.

The best website estimate is not the longest one. It is a clear description of the pages, repeated content, media, user actions and responsibilities required for a useful first release. Once those details are written down, you can request development with fewer assumptions, compare quotations more confidently and make better decisions about what belongs in the first version.