Client Content Collection Kit for Web Designers

Price: $19 · Version 1.0 · For freelance web & brand designers on fixed-price website projects

Get your client's copy, photos, logins and decisions before the build starts, with a due date, a reminder schedule and an agreed fallback, so the project doesn't stall at 90% waiting for "the About page text".

WHO THIS IS FOR

You build websites for a fixed price and your schedule depends on content the client has to send. You've had projects sit for weeks with a half-empty Drive folder, lorem ipsum in the layout, and a launch date that slips while the client "works on the copy".

WHAT YOU GET DONE

1. Plan content by section, not by page. Each row asks one question with a length limit (for example: Home / Why us: "3 reasons a customer picks you over the business down the street", 3 x max 20 words) and has an agreed fallback if it never arrives.

2. Set the dates once. Enter the build start date. The tracker calculates the content due date, the gentle reminder date, the overdue notice date and the final notice date (Mon–Fri).

3. Know what to send next. Set the As-of date when you check and enter Received / Approved dates. The Dashboard shows the build gate (READY / NOT READY), overdue items, per-page readiness, the projected launch date and which email to send (E1–E5).

4. Send the client one guide and use the emails. The client gets a fill-in guide. You get 5 editable emails: kickoff request, gentle reminder, overdue notice with launch options, final notice (fallback or pause), and sign-off request.

5. Make the deadline stick. A plain-language content clause for your proposal covers the due date, spare days, fallback, pause/restart and "no passwords by email".

PREVIEW (fictional example included in the files)

Harbor Yoga Studio, 5-page Squarespace site plus a Retreats page added by change CO-01. Build starts Mon Nov 9, 2026, with a 3-working-day content lead, so content is due Wed Nov 4. Planned launch is Tue Nov 24 with 1 spare day.

Dashboard on Thu Nov 5: 14 items, 6 approved, 2 waiting for review, 4 overdue. Build gate: NOT READY (8 items not approved). Projected launch: still Tue Nov 24 (1 day late, covered by the spare day). Next email: E3 overdue notice.

E3 excerpt: "A) Send them by Fri Nov 6 → launch on Wed Nov 25. B) I build with the agreed fallbacks → launch stays on Tue Nov 24."

FILES AND ORDER OF USE

1-START-HERE.md: one-page quick start

2-content-tracker-blank.xlsx (+ filled EXAMPLE .xlsx and a values-only .csv)

3-section-library.md / .csv: 34 ready-made section rows (question, length, type, fallback)

4-client-content-guide.docx / .md: the client's fill-in guide

5-content-emails.docx / .md: E1–E5

6-content-clause.docx / .md: proposal/contract wording

7-OPTIONAL-ai-draft-prompt.md: optional, untested (see below)

test-results.txt

WHAT YOU NEED

Excel 2010 or newer, Google Sheets (import the .xlsx) or LibreOffice. Uses WORKDAY, NETWORKDAYS and COUNTIFS. No macros, no add-ons.

Word, Google Docs or any text editor.

No AI tool, account or paid software needed.

TESTED AND LIMITS

Tested 2026-11-03 KST in LibreOffice 25.2 (headless recalculation): 68 checks passed, including the example numbers, a blank file, 0 and negative inputs, duplicates, text in date cells, 100 filled rows, very large values, and ODS/CSV round trips. Not yet opened in Excel or Google Sheets.

Dates count Mon–Fri only. Holidays are not skipped.

Projected launch assumes each late working day (minus your spare days) moves launch by one working day.

The tracker tracks content. It doesn't store files: use your own shared folder. Never put passwords in it.

The optional AI prompt (file 7) has not been tested in any AI tool. Nothing else in the kit uses AI.

The clause is not legal advice. English only. All example names and dates are fictional.

FREE VS PAID

Free Content Deadline & Chase Planner: one due date for the whole project, the chase dates, next step and launch impact, plus the kickoff email and a short clause.

Paid ($19): section-by-section tracking with Received/Approved, build gate, per-page readiness, overdue and duplicate checks, the 34-section library, the client guide, all 5 emails and the full clause.

LICENSE, SUPPORT AND REFUNDS

License: personal and commercial use for your own business and clients. No resale or redistribution.

Support: by email, reply within 3 business days.

Refund: within 14 days if the files don't work as described.

Updates: bug fixes to v1.0 for existing buyers. No lifetime or unlimited updates are promised.

RELATED

When the client adds pages mid-project: Scope Creep Shield ($24) https://dudgh8.gumroad.com/l/ilyywz

After the build starts (weekly updates, delays, approvals, handoff): Client Update & Handoff Kit ($19) https://dudgh8.gumroad.com/l/aqrcq