As you embark on your journey of creating a website, there are many things to discuss with your web designer before beginning the project. This article will go through six essential topics to consider when meeting about your website redesign. With this information at hand, you can ensure that the process of creating an effective and beautiful site is smooth and successful.
The Look and Feel
Before you even meet with your web designer, it’s important to take some time to think about the style you want for your website. Do you want a minimal, sleek look or a blast of color and shape? Will large, animated images fill up the screen or will text be the hero of this style? Consider the message you want to communicate and use your brand to decide on which style element you envision.
Share with your designer some websites that inspire you. Look at different websites that have an appealing look and/or have a similar purpose to yours. This will help set the tone of the project and give your designer a better understanding of what kind of look and feel you are striving for.
Who Are You Designing for?
Defining your target audience goes a long way in the design process. Your web designer needs to understand who they are creating for and why they are visiting the website. A website targeted at families might be more imagery heavy and colorful while a website aimed at university professors might have a more subdued color palette and more written copy.
Knowing which content will best reach and engage your audience, as well as how visitors should interact with the design, will help your designer create a website that is both effective and attractive.
Brand Asset Inventory
To make sure your website is cohesive and up-to-date with your brand guidelines, it’s important to provide your designer with an inventory of all the assets that should be associated with your brand. This includes logos, font styles, color palette, images, and any other visuals you use for marketing related materials.
By having this information readily available, your designer can create a website that fits in with the overall look of your company and its branding.
Homepage Must-Haves
Discussing the content that you need on your homepage is also imperative when it comes to designing a website. Think about what information you want to be focal, how much space will be allocated for each section, and what kind of calls-to-action are needed.
These must-have features can be determined by how visitors interact with your website and what kind of goals you have set. A non-profit might want to prioritize upcoming events to promote volunteer opportunities while a retail store will have a countdown to their latest deal in the center stage of their homepage.
Measurable Goals
Setting goals for your website can help you and your web designer define success. What are the key metrics to track? How will you measure ROI (return on investment)? Making measurable goals should be part of the conversation during the initial project planning process so the design team has a clear idea of what is expected from them.
How Involved are You?
Lastly, it’s important to discuss what type of involvement you will have in the design process. Designers like to know if you will be available to provide feedback on drafts and the amount of time they have before launch date. A website design is also dependent on if you will do your own updating in the future and if the designer will assist in adjustments. Being aware of your availability when discussing the project will help set expectations and ensure a successful website launch.
By taking the time to go over these six topics, you can ensure that your website design project will be smooth and successful. With a well-defined plan in place, all stakeholders will have an understanding of their roles and responsibilities throughout the design process.
Good luck! If you need help along the way, feel free to reach out to us here at Eternity Web if you have any questions.