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Going into the business deal:
You are a vital part of the equation. Your web designer is working for you, but more importantly he is working with you. Be a good customer and have good communication and it will be reciprocated by your designer.
Have respect for the expertise of your web designer. He has most likely seen more websites in one week than the average person views in one year. A good web designer will know what works and what doesn't. When he tells you what she believes is best, weigh his advice heavily.
Talk about money. Do not be afraid to ask exactly how much your site design will cost. Before any work is done, make sure the costs are laid out and agreed upon with a contract. Be sure to mention if you will need a cart system and how many pages you think you will need. Establishing these things beforehand can help the designer be more coherent (instead of trying to cram them into the site design later.) Many designers ask for a down payment before beginning work on a site. This is for the security of their work.
What to expect from your designer and yourself:
1. A good designer will make a site work well, flow well, look great and be easy to navigate. Many people come to a web designer wanting their site to "look great". Web design is more than skin deep. Do your research before you bring your site ideas to your web designer. Look at other sites that you find easy to use and great to look at. Compiling a list of sites that you like is a way to give your designer a starting point of what you are looking for in your site.
2. A web designer is like a painter without a landscape. As the customer, it is your job to give him a landscape to turn into a functioning website. When you discuss your ideas with your designer, be concrete. The more descriptive you are the better. Ambiguity does not get very far when communicating your ideas to your designer. Have examples of sites you like, features you need/like, color schemes, etc. Let him see some of your products or read a bit about your business, anything to give him an idea of your company and style.
3. Communicating through the process: Most often a designer will make a mock up site based on the information you have provided. This is his way of seeing how close or far away he is from hitting the mark. When you receive this first of many 'drafts' of your site, be sure to look over it very closely and provide concrete points on what you like and do not like. For example: "I like the color red, but the blue you selected is too dark." instead of "I don't like the blue". Be descriptive. If you don't like the size of the font, say so. If you don't like this or that picture, say so. The more you can communicate to your designer about how to proceed, the better your outcome will be. Also, express how the site makes you feel. If the site is all black with red text and you don't like it, don't say "I don't like black". Instead you might say "it gives me a depressed feeling because of all the black. Let's try something that feels more warm and inviting." Designers are humans and can make mistakes and interpret your needs incorrectly. If you give them concrete, complete direction about where to go with your site, you have a better chance of reaching your goal.
4. Leave your preconceived ideas at the door. Don't ask your designer to make a site just like someone else's. Be open to new, fresh ideas. Your designer is a valuable resource with cutting edge knowledge of what works in websites. Utilize that as best you can.
5. Your website's message and content need to be very clear. It is not the job of your web designer to compose the text for your website. You know your company and yourself better than Mr. Web Designer. Write up your "about us" page, your homepage text, etc and make sure there are no spelling or gramatical errors before you send the text to your web designer. Your designer is not your spelling or grammar coach. If you need help writing the text for your website, sort this out before you take your ideas to your web designer.
6. Two heads are better than one, but three is a committee. The less people involved in the design process the better. Everyone has an opinion and in the budding stages of a website, this can be detrimental. Take your ideas to your designer and ask for a second pair of eyes if you get stuck. The more voices there are giving opinion as the design rolls along, the more watered down the end product will become. Getting mixed messages from all the people involved in your web design is also very frustrating for a designer to have to deal with.
Further Reading: "Getting Your Website Started: 10 tips for the clueless"
Copyright HostRail.com, 2008
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