An export website brief should explain what an overseas buyer needs to know, what your business can substantiate and how the sales team will handle an enquiry. Choosing a theme comes later.
Use this export website requirements checklist before commissioning a new site or rebuilding an existing one. It applies to manufacturer exporters, merchant exporters and trading houses, but the final requirements depend on your products and operating model. For implementation, see Vylino’s website design for exporters.
1. Define the buyer and the purpose of the website
- Identify your priority buyer types: importer, distributor, retailer, OEM procurement team or another specific audience.
- Choose the product families you are ready to promote and the markets your business can actually support.
- Decide the next action: request a quote, discuss a sample, download a catalogue or arrange a meeting.
- Write down the questions that determine whether an enquiry is a fit.
For example, a made-to-order component supplier may need drawings and annual volume during qualification. A handicraft trader may need product reference, quantity, finish and packaging preferences. These are illustrative requirements, not a universal form template.
2. Describe the business accurately
- Use a consistent business name, contact details and operating address.
- State whether you manufacture, trade, source or perform a combination of roles.
- Identify who approves statements about production, quality and export capability.
- Confirm permission to use partner facilities, customer names, testimonials and photographs.
A merchant exporter should explain sourcing and coordination strengths. It should not imply ownership of a factory that belongs to a supplier. An accurate business profile gives the development team a sound basis for the About, capability and contact pages.
3. Build one approved product-information sheet
Collect the following fields for a representative product before designing the complete catalogue. Remove fields that do not apply and add specialist attributes with your technical team’s input.
| Field | What to supply | Who should review it |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Name, reference code, category and variants | Product or sales owner |
| Specification | Material/composition, dimensions, units, application and relevant technical limits | Technical or quality owner |
| Order context | MOQ guidance, sample process, customisation and lead-time conditions | Sales and operations |
| Packaging | Available packaging, labelling options and what requires confirmation | Operations |
| Media | Approved photographs and labelled document files | Content owner |
| Evidence | Current certificates or reports relevant to the business or product, with permission for publication | Quality or authorised reviewer |
Keep claims at the right level. A company-level certificate does not automatically describe every product, and a test report for one sample should not be presented as proof for an entire range. Do not guess codes, technical specifications or destination requirements to complete a website field.
4. Plan pages around buyer decisions
A practical starting structure is Home, Company, Products, Capabilities or Sourcing Process, Quality Information, Downloads and Contact. Individual product pages belong under meaningful categories. Add application pages only when they explain a distinct use case.
For a manufacturer, process and facility content may be central. For a trading house, sourcing, supplier assessment and order coordination may deserve more emphasis. See manufacturing website requirements for a production-led business.
Make important products reachable through navigation and category links. Google explains the role of linked category and product pages in its site-structure guidance. Do not depend on the search box alone to expose the catalogue.
5. Agree what is public and what is shared later
Public datasheets and brochures help a buyer assess fit. Confidential drawings, customer-specific prices and sensitive documents may need a controlled sharing process. Identify the owner, version and publication status of each file before uploading it.
- Use descriptive filenames and state file type and size beside substantial downloads.
- Put essential specifications in readable page content as well as supporting documents.
- Set a review date for documents that change.
- Remove obsolete public copies when the approved version changes, while preserving any records your business requires internally.
6. Specify the export enquiry workflow
Define required and optional fields before development. A sensible first enquiry may ask for product reference, approximate quantity, destination, company and email. An optional question field allows buyers to explain requirements that do not fit a dropdown.
Decide who receives each enquiry, who covers absences and how the team records follow-up. Confirm whether the website connects to an inbox, CRM or another system. If a product-specific button opens the form, the product reference should arrive with the message.
If uploads are required, agree accepted formats, file-size limits, safe storage, access and retention. Do not require a confidential drawing before a buyer knows how it will be handled.
7. Choose languages and regional content deliberately
Start with the languages your buyers use and your team can maintain. Budget for translation review, product updates and handling enquiries in that language. A translated menu with untranslated technical details is an incomplete experience.
Use separate URLs for genuine language versions and appropriate annotations between equivalents. Google recommends explicit language-version URLs and warns against relying on automatic redirection alone; see its international site guidance. An English-only site does not need hreflang merely because it accepts international enquiries.
Country pages should earn their place through useful, distinct information. Avoid creating a long list of near-identical destination pages when the offer and content are the same.
8. Put search and measurement requirements in the brief
- Map important product families and buyer questions to appropriate pages.
- Specify descriptive titles, useful headings and internal links.
- Check that intended public pages can be crawled and indexed after launch.
- Keep structured data consistent with visible information; do not invent prices or ratings.
- Define tracking for successful enquiry submissions, with a separate record of which enquiries are qualified.
- Keep personal enquiry details out of analytics event parameters.
Review search performance by relevant queries, landing pages and target countries. Traffic, a form submission and a qualified opportunity are different stages. A website can improve the route between them without guaranteeing a ranking or order.
9. Agree ownership, updates and running costs
List domain, hosting, software licences, translation services and integrations. Record the account owner, renewal responsibility and what happens if the development relationship ends. Decide who updates product data and who reviews changes to credentials or documents.
A proposal should distinguish launch support, ongoing technical maintenance and regular content changes. Ask for a handover that demonstrates the routine tasks your team will actually perform.
10. Run an end-to-end acceptance check
- Open representative category and product pages on a phone and desktop.
- Compare specifications against the approved product sheet.
- Download documents and confirm they are the current public versions.
- Send an agreed test enquiry and verify delivery, product reference and buyer confirmation.
- Check required-field errors and upload restrictions, if uploads are in scope.
- Confirm important old URLs redirect correctly when replacing a site.
- Verify intended live pages are not accidentally blocked by staging settings.
- Perform an agreed product edit using the handover account.
Use clearly labelled test data and coordinate the test with the team receiving it. The acceptance record should say what was checked and who owns any remaining issue.
Copy this brief for your export website project
We are a [manufacturer / merchant exporter / trading house] supplying
. Our priority buyers are [buyer types] in [markets]. We need the website to support [primary action]. We have approximately [number] products and [number] public documents. Our product data is available in [format]. Content approval is owned by [role]. Required languages are [languages]. Enquiries should reach [team/system]. Our current website is [URL]. Please quote build work, content preparation, integrations and recurring costs separately.
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Export website checklist FAQs
Can we launch before every product is ready?
Yes, if the launch scope contains complete, accurate information for the selected range. Publish a useful initial catalogue and expand it through an agreed content process.
Do we need online payment on an export website?
Not necessarily. A quote-led website suits orders that depend on specifications and commercial discussion. Checkout needs separate payment, fulfilment and operational planning.
Does this checklist replace export or legal advice?
No. It is a website-planning checklist. Product approvals, export procedures and destination requirements must be confirmed with the relevant qualified advisers or authorities.
Turn the checklist into a development scope
Share the completed brief and a representative product sheet with Vylino. We can identify the required templates, content gaps and enquiry workflow before proposing the build.
Discuss your export website brief · Explore exporter website development · Explore product catalogue websites