If you are a business owner – or desire to become one, designing your website is usually the first and most important thing you need to do. It can be easy to assume that creating one from scratch is relatively easy, but the truth is it is a very difficult and time consuming project. Odds are that your talents are more in the entrepreneurship category and you will need to hire a web design company to take care of this very important task. There are countless articles available online to help you sort out what to look for in a professional and the different options available to you. If you’re the type of person that “knows exactly what they want” you may not need a company to build a website. A freelance web designer who can follow your direction may be the right choice. Full service companies come with a layer of strategies that can help you meet your business goals. Once you find the perfect option to help develop your online presence, the work really begins for you. If you want the most professional website for your business needs, it is of the utmost importance that you yourself act as a professional during the building process.
Be Clear, Be Specific and Be Organized
Your taste: As you research different web design companies, take time to review their portfolios and make note of any designs that appeal to you. Bookmark the sites so that when you do hire someone, you can refer back to a particular design or color scheme in order to give them a clear idea of what you have in mind. Start visualizing what you want your website to look like, the features you want to use and what kind of content and pictures you would like to include. Brainstorm and keep a list of ideas so you can easily share them without wasting too much time.
Give freedom: If you’re not sure exactly what you want, you can always give the designer creative freedom. Just remember, if you allow them creative freedom – make sure you follow through and give it to them. The designer will actually have to spend more time coming up with a unique color palette and design scheme for your website, so you are simply wasting their time and your money if they have to start all over. Giving the right company the freedom to build your website has great advantages. Asking them to follow your exact lead could be bad.
Have content ready: Remember that although there are some full service web design companies out there, most freelance designers are not content producers. This is your business website and you need to have a very clear idea of what information needs to be on it. If you don’t already have content ready to go, start getting some prepared or hire a professional content producer. Most web designers are happy to recommend copywriters they know or have worked with in the past, and will also be relieved that you are aware that content is not part of the design cost.
Time and money: It’s very important to understand your own deadline and budget, and decide how flexible you can be before contacting someone to design your website. Get a few time and cost estimates before you begin and compare the work quality of each. Don’t be afraid to negotiate with a designer, but at the same time, don’t expect them to lower their rates just in order to meet your budget. Busy web designers know how long and complicated a project will be, if they aren’t able to offer you a contract within your budget, be understanding and ask if there are any other talented designers they can recommend.
Have a Plan, Have a Contract and Have Guidelines
Plan well: As a business owner, you should already know how important a business plan is and it is no different with a web designer – this IS their business. Have a general plan of how to conduct this business transaction and stick to it, just like you would expect your own clients to do. Pre-think all of the details involved in designing a website and include them in a basic plan that both of you can easily follow. Include items such as your preferences regarding color scheme and layout. Send examples of what you like and why you like it and point out designs in their own portfolios or other websites that appeal to you. Keep the information simple and make sure to allow for some creative freedom; the end result will be much better if you do.
Set milestones: Make sure to clearly establish your time-frame and deadlines. Specifically note when you will be able to deliver content, photos or any other design specifications that they require. If the information has not already been provided to you, make sure to openly discuss a payment plan; whether they work on an hourly or fixed rate; what kind of deposit they require; and establish the estimated date in which the website will go live. Once the basic plan is worked out, make it clear how often you would like to receive an update on the progress (daily, biweekly, or as the site progresses) also establish whether these updates will be by phone or email – make sure to ask the designer when and how they would prefer you to contact them regarding issues and questions you have about the project.
Business hours: Just because web designers work from their computer does not mean that they are available 24/7. Expect the same business hours you would if you were walking into an office building. If you email them at 8pm – don’t expect an answer back until the following day. If you need to talk them on the phone regarding a design issue, establish the best time to do that and then respect them enough to understand they – like you – do actually have lives outside of work.
Paperwork: Once all of these issues have been addressed, request a copy of their general contract and read through it thoroughly. Make sure that all of the discussed deadline, deposit and payment information is included in the contract, as well as a modification and cancellation clause. Some designers and companies have had bad experiences in the past collecting their payment when a client was dissatisfied with the final project results – even if the website was designed exactly as they specified. Don’t be offended if the contract is very straightforward and specific regarding payments, modifications and cancellations. Nobody wants to put forth time and creative effort without being paid, so the initial deposit, payment schedule and clauses will give your designer a comfort zone that eases the fear of nonpayment and enables them to work more openly with you throughout the design process.
Respect Their Opinions, Respect Their Time, and Respect Their Personal Lives
Professionalism: Once all of the details have been firmly established – don’t change your mind! If you weren’t sure about the design aspects, timeline or contract in the beginning you should have done more research until you were satisfied. Now is not the time for negotiations, the designer will need space and freedom to create your website without interference. If for whatever reason during the design process you decide the person or company you hired is not working out for you, clearly address the issues you are having and try to work it out in a respectful and professional manner. If you cannot agree and feel the need to cancel in mid-project, make sure they are completely paid for the work they have done and ask that the design work be handed over to you in the event you wish to continue the project at a later time.
Punctuality: Make sure to be prompt and organized when you correspond and transfer design information to them. Match each subject with the information included in the email such as; “Content for Page 1”, “Stock Photo’s”, “Contact Information”. All of the pictures and content articles need to be appropriately labeled so that the designer doesn’t waste time sorting through information. They may have minor questions in the beginning; it is very important to respond as promptly as possible since these are most likely regarding the most important aspects of your website design.
Deadlines:There are deadlines for you too. If the project is set to launch in two months, there are certain expectations a designer or company will require of you as the client. If they give you a task, such as provide comments on this mockup, or get me content for this page, you need to return the information to them as quickly as possible, typically within a one or two business days. If you are slow to respond, this will affect the time-frame of the project and may delay the launch of your website.
After the information is successfully transferred and all questions have been addressed – leave the designer alone and contact them only according to the plan that was agreed to. The more distracted they are with trivial requests, phone calls and emails, the less time they will be able to spend designing your website and the more money you will end up spending.
Changes: After the designer contacts you to view the initial page layout it may still be early enough in the game to suggest minor changes but don’t demand a complete make-over quite yet. If the concept is completely off, don’t overreact. Try and consider first what went wrong. If the designer has a great portfolio, then their skills are probably not the issue. Ask yourself questions before questioning the concept. Did you provide a detailed creative brief? Did you answer all the questions? If you gave the designer full creative freedom and you didn’t get what you wanted, its best to provide detailed feedback on the first concept, so they can better understand what you want. However, if you did provide a detailed creative brief and the initial efforts do not match up with your request, it may be time to find a new designer.
Communication: If you aren’t satisfied with some of the minor aspects of the design, now is the time to ask pointed questions; why did you put that picture on the left? Why is the logo so small? Can we rearrange the top menu bar? Be EXTREMELY clear when requesting minor changes. Make your goals understandable – a designer is an artist and if you can clearly convey the reasoning behind a particular change it will help them understand that you are not challenging their creativity, just trying to better define the purpose of your website. Nobody likes to be told what to do, so help them to understand the why behind the request. Instead of simply saying – “I don’t like that button” or “this side doesn’t look right”. Tell them specifically, “I don’t like that button because it is too small, our business goal is to get more leads, so can you make it stand out more?” or “That side looks off balance and I feel like it draws attention away from the content, what do you think? Can you rearrange the pictures to even it out?” Always ask the designer’s opinion and then consider it carefully before demanding a change.
Education: Remember that your web designer is not super human and they can’t read your mind. Educate yourself on the terms and concepts of web design. Don’t expect them to hold your hand and explain the entire process step by step. If you are unsure about a certain aspect or concept the designer mentions – ask if they could recommend an informational article or website where you can read and educate yourself in that area.
Respect: Once a project goes into the coding and programming phase, it is very difficult to make adjustments. Compare it to building a house; once you approve the blueprints for a home and the foundation has been laid, it’s too late to ask the contractors to move the kitchen somewhere else. As the website project comes to an end, be careful of requesting too many last minute changes. Many items at this point in the design process are more time-consuming than you think, so even small requests could greatly affect the deadline and cost initially quoted in the contract. Decide whether this is an acceptable option to you and your budget before making demands on the designer. Listen and consider the designers professional opinion and suggestions – you hired them because they are the experts; they need to be respected for their insight and knowledge.
Satisfaction: Regardless of whether you are completely happy with the end result or not – remember that a contract is a contract. If you have followed the guidelines of being a perfect client, you should have the exact website you requested, even if it isn’t exactly what you envisioned. Pay your web designer promptly for all of the work they have done. In hind-sight, you may even see that there were areas where you should have listened to their professional advice, but didn’t – and now you see why. This is not the time to tell them you were wrong. You have what you paid for and unless the changes are covered in an alterations and revisions clause in the contract – be satisfied and appreciate the hard work they have done.
Following all of these tips will make it much easier to suggest minor changes once the website goes live and ensure that you and your web designer continue having a professional relationship. Ultimately you will have the perfect website design to fit your business needs that both of you can be proud of.
Courtesy of:
Tara Deck from Ciplex.com
