How to Get the Best Out of
Your Web Designer
The more thought and planning that goes
into your project, the better the outcome will be. Before you approach a
designer with your project, have as much information as you can
ready. This will help the designer decide if they can take your
project and also help them understand what you need. Remember, while you
are looking for a designer for your project, they are also qualifying
you as a prospective client!
Five things you should have before
approaching a designer:
- Have general information about your
company ready for the designer to review. A simple mission
statement may work so that they can get a feel for what you offer.
- Have a general idea of the type of
site you want. Should it be an informational type brochure
site or an e-commerce shop? What features will it need? A
blog or a community forum perhaps? How many pages will your site
have (ie, Home, About Us, etc.)?
- Have at least 3 Websites
ready to show that you like or that offer the same features you
would like your site to have. These can be related to your industry
or not.
- State what the main goal of this
project will be. Would you like to increase sales? Or, attract new
leads? What would make your Website
successful? Your designer will need to know what to shoot
for.
- Have a budget in mind for your
project and state it. If you are really not sure what it may be, do
say so. But, if you do have one in mind, it's better to state it
upfront. This will really help the designer determine what can be
done within your budget and help offer solutions for your project.
During the Web Design process,
it's just as necessary that you remain available in order to provide
input and make requests. Here are some things you can do to help your
Web Designer during the Web design process:
- Familiarize yourself with the general Web Design process
itself. Most designers should make this clear for you and
provide you with a time-line or at least have this information ready
for you to read.
- If possible, have all of your site content ready before the
design process starts. This will help your designers
determine how the site design should be laid out while they
are working on your design concept.
- Respond to requests in a timely manner. This is very important
so that the project can keep rolling so that the due date doesn't
get set back.
- Make sure you ask questions if you don't
understand something. It's always easier to fix something earlier
rather than later. Make sure you keep yourself available in case the
designer has questions for you too!
- Communicate in a
clear manner. State what you would like done and answer questions as
thoroughly, but clearly as you can, especially when you need to give
instructions or change requests.
Example of bad feedback:
"I'm not feeling this, can it be more sexy?"
Example of good
feedback: "My readers are people from the ages of 20-25. What can we
do to alter the design to target them better?"
- Offer
problems, not solutions. This one is a real biggie. When you don't
feel something is right or would like the site to accomplish
something in particular, state the problem to the designer
and ask what solutions are available. Very often, projects fail
because clients insist on a sub-par solution when another solution
could have been much more effective. After all, you are paying an
expert to help find the best solutions for you and you should take
advantage of this.
If you plan to continue working with your
new designer, here are a few tips that can help you maintain a
healthy working relationship:
- Keep the designer informed about whether or not the
project was successful. It's very important for many designers
to know if their work is effective or not and if it fulfilled it's
main goal. Some ways to measure success is by measuring the
percentage of increase in profits, website statistics tracking, etc.
- If you think anything could have made a better
experience for you throughout the process, let your designer know.
Feedback is very important.
- If you feel happy with the work done and the outcome was
successful, make sure your designer feels appreciated. Some
basic things you can do to demonstrate your satisfaction might be to
pay quickly, write your designer a testimonial, or refer new clients
to them.
Getting good work out of your designer requires some effort
and collaboration, but can result in a long, healthy, and
successful business relationship for both of you. Good luck!
Author: Naomi Niles, About.com
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