What should you provide your website designer if you are going to hire them to design your website? This question is asked almost everytime a new project is started. So I decided to write a checklist of things that you, as a client, should provide to your web developer.
Budget:
Don’t be afraid to tell your website designer how much you are willing to spend. This is the basis for negotiation. As a website designer, when a client is prepared to tell me what their budget is, this makes things a whole lot easier. Then I know what type of site, and how much work I should allocate to this website design project.
Complete list of design requirements:
Its always nice to have lists, especially when the client provides them. What type of designs are you going to need done with your website design project? Will you need business cards, envelopes, stationary, flyers, brochures? Or do you just need a website?
Don’t just tell us that you “have no idea what layout’s you need, can you just create some and get back to us?” – this would be a waste of time and money for the web developer because there is an unlimited number of items we can create layouts for. T-shirts, coffee mugs, promotional items such as pens, flyers, info cards – the list is endless! So have a list of the items you want your website design layout to match, this will help in the future.
Target Audience
All to often the client doesn’t understand what this means, what we are saying is who are you trying to attract to your website? If you are selling wheelchair accessible ramps, then obviously you are trying to bring in disabled persons and their concerned family members. Or say you own an ice cream parlor, then you would want kids, senior citizens and family’s to visit your website.
The Deadline:
Knowing when a website design project has to be completed is very important. The sooner you can tell your website developer the length of time he/she has to complete your project, the better that developer can manage their time needed for the project. I know this sounds silly, but it really helps if you have a deadline, or “publishing date” setup beforehand, that way everyone is on the same page.
Graphics, Images, Advertisemnts
Please, please, please have readily available any graphics, photo’s, previous advertisments, etc.. This is especially helpful because it gives us an idea of what type of work you want. Even if you are going to hand us those graphics and tell us what you don’t like about them, thats good too. Having a graphical representation of what you want your company website to look like is an excellent resource for your website designer.
Any types of work done previously (if available)
If you are a new, or start-up company then this does not apply to you. But if you have other design work that was completed by another company do not hesitate to bring, or email those items to your website designer. Even if you have to contact the previous company that designed the artwork, do it. If you worked with a previous designer, advertiser or graphic company, they should have on file every piece of work they have ever done with you (provided you are in good terms with them). We save all of our clients work, new or old, and then periodically back it up to DVD’s – just in case.
This should clear up some questions you have before starting a new website design project and give you an understanding of what your website designer expects you to have available when inquiring about website design.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. XTELWEB – Tampa Website Design & SEO Company provides website design and search engine optimization services, we are located in Tampa, Florida and we service company’s all over the United States. Thank you for reading this article. Contact us at 727-359-5150 for a free consultation.
