After deciding to hire a web designer, you can’t sit back and look forward to a stunning website. Your designer will need to know a few things before they can even start with your project. Most of the time, designers strongly need to comprehend exactly what their client wants. This is, more than often, difficult to describe in one go.
There are many elements that need to be taken care of, with regards to designing a good website. What makes your designer’s job not only easier, but also better, is having the following things ready for your initial correspondence with them.
Your Brand And Its Message
Take things like your logo, color scheme and tagline seriously. You should have one of each that you are both confident and serious about. It should complement your product/service and convey your company’s message. You may even need to hire a professional graphic designer for this. A good logo can do volumes for your website.
Know-How Your Business Works
Some might say to this – “Duh!” but many times, clients who hire web designers, fail to deliver the complete process through which their business works. Ensuring that your designer knows details about how customers can purchase services, how deliveries are made or how things are manufactured can also help the designer come up with a better website for you.
Create a List of Plugins You Want On Your Site
Take some time out and browse the internet to find a system that goes well with your business. Once you settle on one that you like, tell your designer to add that system for you. Doing this will prevent them from making assumptions about what system you may like and creating a system that just totally doesn’t work for you.
Get a Photoshoot Done
Your designer will definitely need photos of you and your work to add to your website. So before hiring a designer, I suggest, hire a photographer first. Make sure you take photos that show credibility of your work and introduce your business. You will need at least 10 high quality photographs before you get started.
A List of Websites That You Like
I cannot stress on this enough. Your designer will mostly be in the periphery of what you wanted for your website. This means that they’ll only be able to bring up a design that you were ‘somewhat’ aiming for. Unless you give them a list of websites that strongly inspire you. Literal and physical definitions make more sense than verbal ones. Giving your designer a few websites to look at before designing yours, allows them to understand your taste twice as better.
Your Website’s Goals
Your website works as an effective marketing tool for your business. Each page one your site should serve a purpose. Know your Calls to Action and tell them to your designer. Talk about a promo offer, or a button for making appointments and bookings.
What do you want the visitor to do on your home page? What do you want them to do one your product page. Where do you want them to go while they navigate through the website? Answer these questions and let your designer know.
Content
A properly written page copy can do wonders for your site. It basically gives your visitors their first impression about your credibility as a business. Giving content to your designer can create parameters for their planning.
Don’t give your designer lengthy passages or too many photos. They may be successful in making it look good but your website doesn’t need wordy paragraphs and a bombardment of media. Think of your visitors before you prepare your content. Make it brief, easy to digest and to the point.
When writing content, practice Search Engine Optimization. Using your business niche key words can trigger search engines to redirect results to your website, maximizing traffic and exposure.
Gather Testimonials
If you’ve done a few projects in the past, have your customers write a review. What did they think of your work? Are they satisfied? Do they recommend you to others?
Giving these testimonials to your designer can help them create a website that will in turn, convince your visiting potential customers to trust your brand and buy from you.
Blog
It is a good idea to include a blog in your website for effective digital marketing strategy. It can give your visitors a good insight to your work. Interesting topics and constantly updating your blog can keep bringing back customers and future business. Some potential customers may even discover you through your blog.