Author: J. Williams
A lot of businesses start with less than ideal websites. A friend of a friend knows a guy who knows a girl who made a site for her brother’s band, and, well, you know the rest. But every business reaches a point where it needs a professional online appearance. Unfortunately, commissioning a website isn’t as simple as ordering office supplies. Web professionals and businesspeople don’t always speak the same language, and the learning curve for an already beleaguered entrepreneur can be steep. Here, we explain how to select and collaborate with a designer to create an attractive and effective site–on time and on budget.
1. Do your homework
The first step in finding a designer you like is finding designs you like. Look at the sites of your competitors and similar businesses. The key is to find a designer whose taste matches your own. Many designers specialize in creating a particular kind of site. A designer whose previous work includes only small, brochure-style sites might be a poor fit for a large online store, so it’s important to consider the scope of your project as well.
2. Know the basics
Even for web professionals, keeping up with technology is difficult. Fortunately, as a small-business owner, you don’t need to know the ins and outs of the latest trends to commission a website, but it does help to understand a few fundamentals.
For example, it is good to understand the difference between a domain name, a web host, and the web site. If all of that is unfamiliar, don’t worry; designers are happy to recommend reliable domain registrars and hosting companies when they work with clients.
3. Be prepared to collaborate
Once you’re ready to approach a designer, your input is key.
“The fantasy people have a lot of times is that they’re just simply going to be able to call a web designer and say, ‘Make me a website and show it to me in two weeks when it’s all done,’” – Jesse Young
From start to finish. In the beginning, designers typically ask for detailed descriptions of what prospective clients needs from their websites, as well as for links to other sites that the clients admire. If a designer provides an online questionnaire, potential clients should answer it as thoroughly as possible.
4. Get comfortable
Because collaboration is so important, a shared aesthetic isn’t enough–personalities matter, too. Once prospective clients have completed the online questionnaire, it is recommended that give a brief telephone call to determine whether they’re a good fit.
A good 20 or 30 minute phone call right at the beginning is really important to set the tone for your project.
Clients should also take care that a designer doesn’t seem too eager or hurried. Reputable designers tend to be selective in whom they work with, because they understand how important a good match is to a project’s success.
5. Know what you’re paying for
Once the match is made, a contract is the next step. And here clients can’t be too careful. Everything that’s meant to be included in the project–from the payment schedule to the number of revisions that a client is allowed to request–should be spelled out. While some designers are flexible about small changes, clients shouldn’t count on it.
Clients should also be prepared to put down a deposit before any work begins
6. Be honest, but don’t nitpick
Generally, designers provide clients with a mockup of a proposed design before transforming it into a working site, and this can be the most delicate part of the collaboration. Clients should be honest if they want to see a different design, and wholesale revisions are usually better than a lot of small changes.
If you feel like the design is way off the mark and it doesn’t feel right for your business, speak up. At the same time, understand that requests like ‘put more space on the left and right, and add these 10 things to the sidebar’ may leave you with a design that resembles Frankenstein.
7. Hold up your end
While the designer provides a site’s visual and technical framework, the client is usually responsible for providing the site’s content–most commonly the text. Failing to do so on time can delay completion of the project, sometimes drastically so.
If the text isn’t already prepared, then clients should consider hiring a professional copywriter. Aside from taking the burden off the business owner, a copywriter can provide text that’s customized for search engines, which will help potential customers find the site when it’s finished.
8. Be decisive
Content aside, the most common cause of delays or extra costs after the contract is signed are sudden changes or additions. Many people don’t understand how long certain changes will take to implement, so they’re quick to call and ask for them. Such misunderstandings are another example of the importance of establishing a good relationship between designer and client.
The key is to do the necessary preparation when making your decisions; and then to stick by those decisions until the project is complete.
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