7 Essentials You Need to Have Before Hiring a Website Designer

Raise your hand if you know exactly what to do before you look for a website designer. 

Don't feel bad if you're a bit unsure. The good news is that I want to provide you with clarity in what exactly you need to have done before you start looking for a website designer.

 (Unless you want to work with me and my team. Cuz we will help you through each of these steps ;)

Time saved is money earned and lowered stress. Read this, and you will be able to boost your website's return-on-investment (ROI) by doing some prep work before you invest your time in finding the right web designer. 

Regardless of your industry, you will find doing these seven housekeeping items BEFORE hiring a web designer will make your website project run smoothly.

1.Choose Your Hosting

Your website's files and data will be saved on a remote computer server known as a 'host.' Poor hosting leads to downtime (an inability of your customer to visit your site) or slow load time (nowadays even a few seconds, waiting before a web page loads feels like an eternity!). 

Think of your website's load time as the length it takes you to answer inbound inquiry calls. Would you expect your prospective clients to stay long on the phone if you made them wait too long? It's no different for your website! 

Researching web hosting for your company's needs is a good thing to do before you meet with a web designer. This will help save you time so that your web designer can get straight to work (though many designers WILL be able to help you choose a website host, this is not always the case).

2. Leverage Your Logo

Logos help create a strong impression for your prospective or current customers. 

If you have a logo, I recommend bringing the file or files with you so that your web designer can get a feel for the look and vision you want and technical aspects like specific fonts or colors used. 

If you don’t have a logo, have a few mock logos ready to show your web designer. This can help guide them in following your company's vision, even if you’re still working on your logo’s final version. 

3.Know Your Brand Colors

Have you heard of color theory? Colors are an essential part of your website as they evoke feelings and emotions in your customers and even action. 

If you have a logo, you most likely have brand colors. If you don't know them, your web designer will help you get the technical hex code for them. 

If you don’t have brand colors or are trying to identify what those colors should be, I recommend thinking about these questions: 

• What mood do you want people to be in when they see your website? 
• Which colors represent your company best?

4.Leverage the Customer’s Path on Your Website or Content

How do you want visitors to navigate through your content page? Talking about the structure of this page will help your web designer provide you a more accurate quote. Have an idea of where you want to direct the web traffic. This may depend on your specific goals or offer. Be as specific as possible with how you envision your website. 

This helps determine how many website pages you need, and your web designer will surely feel pleased since they aren't telepathic, and can't always know what you want or need. 

5.Research What Websites You Like and Dislike 

If you don't have a clear picture of how you want your website to look, don't sweat it. Search for examples of websites you visit and enjoy the format, navigation, and color schemes. 

Share examples of sites you don't like, too, with your designer. The benefit of doing a bit of homework on your end will help your designer better grasp the final product you have in your head. 

This will save your designer time and you money in the end, especially if they don't have to continue doing redesigns. 

6. Spend a Little Extra Time on Features 

Additional features are part of any website. However, not every bell and whistle will need to be included. It all depends on your company's goals. Consider these questions: 

• Do you need to take a payment? 
• Do you want visitors to sign up for an email newsletter? 
• Will you (and visitors) need to login? 
• Will customers be able to provide feedback?
• How will the website look as a mobile version?

Explain to your web designer why these questions (and answers) are important and how they help your business's needs. The more you hash out the details of extra features before, the more time, stress, and money you will save after your website is up and running. 

7. Use Relevant Images

The last thing to discuss before hiring a web designer is the type of images you want. 

If you can get professional photography, that will always be better than stock images (which are okay too). But if you can, customers want to see YOU and real customers you’ve helped. Do include headshots or pictures of your products and workplace culture. Ask customers to send in pictures of themselves with your product or a nice review. Adding these types of images makes your websites more personal and enhances your branding. ??

PRO TIP: Save time and be an excellent client by putting on your images in an easy to access file. This will cut down on any unnecessary back-and-forth emails. Your web designer will be pleased! 

Does your website project seem a bit more manageable now? I hope the answer is a definite YES!! Keep these seven things at the top of your mind when scheduling a meeting with a web designer. 

Save time, lower stress, and begin your professional relationship with your web designer on a solid foundation by researching before you begin the project. 

DID YOU KNOW?

I ask ALL of these questions AND guide my clients throughout website projects. We design logos and create branding packages, complete with colors and fonts. We will set up your hosting, find your images, and help work out the website layout. So if you're ready to start BEFORE you do all this - let's talk!

https://calendly.com/creativemarketingengine/consult

Resources:

Color Matters