If you are considering creating a website in Italy, start with the job the website must do. It might explain a service, collect enquiries, show products, support existing customers or connect to an internal process. Choosing colours and a platform comes later.
This guide is for a business commissioning a website. It covers what to prepare, what to ask in a proposal and what to check before launch. If you are comparing technologies, read our guide to a custom website and WordPress.
1. Define the enquiry you want to receive
Imagine a craft workshop that handles repairs and made-to-measure work. “I want a modern website” does not tell a designer which pages are needed. A useful brief says that people should understand the materials, service area and response time, then send measurements or request a visit.
Write down three things before asking for a quote:
- Audience: who will use the site and what they already know.
- Decision: what information helps them decide whether you can help.
- Action: a call, form, appointment, purchase or technical enquiry.
This small brief gives the supplier a basis for a coherent structure and gives you a way to judge the delivered work. If you sell to consumers and businesses, create separate paths when their questions and requirements genuinely differ.
2. Plan pages around questions
For many businesses, a starting structure includes a homepage, service pages, an about page, evidence of work and contact details. A company with several teams may also need solution, sector or support pages. A local practice may need clear appointment and location information.
Assign a real question to every page. The homepage answers “am I in the right place?” A service page explains what is included and who it suits. An authorised project shows how the team works. The contact page says what happens after someone gets in touch. If two pages answer the same question in the same way, consider merging them.
The pages should not become a list of search phrases. Google’s SEO Starter Guide focuses on useful content and a structure people can understand. Specific service information is more helpful than near-identical pages that only swap city names.
3. Gather the information only your business knows
A supplier can help write and organise content, but your team must provide accurate services, areas served, contact details, usable photography, common questions and permission to publish any client work. If there is an existing site, list the pages and URLs that need to survive the change.
You need not deliver polished copy. You do need to agree who writes it, who approves it and how many revisions are included. The same applies to translations, photography and product data. A proposal can look inexpensive because these tasks have been left to you.
For an enquiry site, also map what happens after a form is submitted. Who receives the message? How quickly can they respond? Which fields are actually needed? A confirmation and a working delivery path are part of the experience.
4. Decide who controls the domain and accounts
An address such as yourbusiness.it is different from a platform’s free subdomain. If you choose a .it domain, check availability and the process with the official .it Registry. Registration goes through a Registrar. Agree who the registrant is, who holds the credentials and who manages renewals and DNS.
The extension depends on your audience and the available name. A .it address is not an automatic ranking shortcut. What matters operationally is that the business can keep the address and use it consistently on email and sales material.
Ask where hosting, source files, content and backups live. If you change supplier later, you should know what can be transferred and in which format. Do not wait until a handover to learn that someone else controls the domain.
5. Read the proposal as a list of work and responsibilities
A single price hides important differences. Ask for written answers to these questions:
- Which pages and functions will be delivered?
- Who prepares copy, images, translations and legal materials?
- How many revisions are included, and when are they approved?
- Who registers and renews the domain and hosting?
- Who updates content and technology after launch?
- Who owns the accounts, and how does a handover work?
- How will forms, mobile layouts, links and measurement be tested?
Compare proposals with the same scope. A project that includes page planning, copy and launch checks is different from installing a theme and leaving content upload to the client. Separate recurring costs from the initial work. Our guides to evaluating a website proposal and website maintenance costs offer further detail.
6. Test a working preview before launch
A static image shows appearance but cannot prove that a journey works. Open a working preview on desktop and phone. Find a service without using the menu, submit a form through to confirmation, check phone and email links, and try the pages on a mobile connection.
Check that each page’s title describes its content, images remain readable and links reach the expected destination. If an older site is being replaced, plan redirects for changed addresses. Privacy information and tracking controls must match the data and tools actually used; the Italian data protection authority’s cookie guidance is a starting point for review of the specific setup.
Keep a final list of fixes, owners and dates. “The contact form delivers a message and shows a confirmation on phone and desktop” is a better acceptance test than “it looks fine”.
7. Measure the right things after launch
After publication, verify that pages respond, canonical addresses and the sitemap are consistent, forms reach the right person and someone can update services and contact details. Google’s sitemap documentation explains that a sitemap helps discovery but does not guarantee crawling or indexing.
Then look at useful enquiries, not visits alone. Which pages create them? What do prospects ask? Where do they stop? If impressions grow but clicks do not, inspect queries, positions and the promise in search results before changing the design. Our website check-up gives practical follow-up checks.
How E-ROE can help
E-ROE designs custom showcase websites and more complex company sites. We begin with goals, audience and available material, then plan content and the contact journey before building pages. Tell us about your project if you want to define the right scope.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a .it domain to do business in Italy?
No. A .it domain may be familiar to an Italian audience, but the key is an address your business controls, can communicate easily and can keep over time.
What should I prepare before commissioning a website?
Gather your services and audience, contact details, usable images, publishable projects, recurring customer questions and access to existing tools. Agree who will write and approve the final copy.
How long does website creation take?
It depends on pages, available content, revisions, languages and integrations. Ask for a schedule showing deliverables and responsibilities rather than a deadline without prerequisites.
Does launch guarantee a listing on Google?
No. Accessible pages and a sitemap can help discovery, but crawling, indexing and ranking are separate processes and are not guaranteed.
