Like the second part of the prologue, this part includes John the Baptiser and has a report of something he said about Jesus which illustrates the main point. There we were told that he (John the Baptiser) came in order to testify to who Jesus was; here we are told a snippet of what he told people.
This sentence tells us that John the Baptiser started talking about Jesus before Jesus actually arrived on the scene. Then, when Jesus was there, he pointed him out as the one he had been telling them about. It is helpful that Jesus didn't simply come "out of the blue" and proclaim himself someone special. There was someone else who knew something of what was happening, and could say that Jesus was from God.
John the Baptiser told people that there was another person coming who was more important than he was. He hinted that this person would be greater because he existed before John himself did. The phrase "he was before me" is a very short statement, and on its own would be rather enigmatic. But here it serves as a brief pointer that what John our Writer is telling us (Jesus is unique, was there is the beginning, came from God and so on) is not merely his own assessment, but links back to what God had John the Baptiser say in advance about Jesus.
John the Writer calls this "testifying", or giving evidence. John the Baptiser was kind of like an expert witness in a court; he had information which other people needed if they were to make a correct assessment of Jesus.
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