How to Prepare to Work With a Web Designer

So - you’ve done your research and selected a web designer to work with. That’s so exciting! You’re on your way to getting a beautiful, shiny new website! Buuuuttt… there might be a few things that could catch you by surprise once you actually start working with your designer. What could those things be? Read on to find out!

Haven’t picked a designer yet? Check out my article on What to look for in a Squarespace Designer and 3 Red Flags to Avoid!

Understand the Process

If you’ve never worked with a web designer before you might not know what to expect. Now, there are a TON of great designers out there, and each one is going to offer something a little different. Some designers are great at several aspects of the process, and others prefer to focus on just one. Unless you’ve hired someone who is combining copywriting, branding, AND website building you as the client will have some work to do! But don’t worry - a good web designer will walk you through the process and help you along the way.

So what exactly is the process? If you are getting a brand new website built it will definitely involve writing copy (the words that will go on each page), gathering pictures and images, and then putting it all together into a beautiful and functional website.

If you already have a website and are wanting a redesign, some of these steps will also apply. You might want to rework some of the wording on your pages, or update with fresh pictures. Be sure and take some time to think about why you’re wanting to redesign your site. Is your motivation aesthetic, or are you wanting to achieve different results from your site? You’ll need to be able to answer these questions for your designer, so they know how to assist and get you to your end goal.

Now, if you’re a newer business you might be looking for someone to help you design a logo, pick brand colors, etc. That’s totally ok to bundle into your web design services, and plenty of designers do specialize in those areas! Just make sure you pick a designer that offers those things on top of website building. Alternatively, you can always shop around and piece out each of those elements to someone who specializes in it (graphic designer, brand strategist, etc.)

Write Your Copy

All right - now that you know you’re going to have a bit of work to do on your end, let’s get into just exactly what that means!

Writing copy (or copywriting) might sound like something you’ve never heard of before. It just means writing the wording that will go on each page of your site. If you think about websites you’ve visited in the past, there was probably always an About page. This page would have been filled with a lot of text - usually a backstory for the person or team behind the business/organization running the site. All that text has to come from somewhere! This is what you’ll be writing for your own site. But the fun doesn’t stop at your About page! Each page will have wording on it - from the Home page to your Contact page, each one will need some kind of text on it.

A good website (one that converts) will have a strategy behind all that writing, and a good web designer will help you think through that strategy.

What is a website that converts?

That means your website gets visitors to do what you want them to - whether that’s buying your product, subscribing to your blog, signing up for your email list, etc. So it’s important to think about your end goal before your site is even built, and especially when writing your copy.

A good web designer will help you think through this strategy as you’re writing, but it’s important to complete and submit your copy to your designer on time. Why? Without your copy, the website will be blank.

The designer can only do such much without your input (it’s your site after all!)

It should be a reflection of your end goal, and only you can determine what that is. It’s also important to stick to deadlines because you don’t want your project to drag on and on.

Provide Images / Branding

Similar to providing copy, you will likely also need to provide images you want to appear on your site. As we previously mentioned, there are some designers who will bundle services and may provide this for you, but don’t assume everyone does. Make sure you ask what exactly is included in your package when vetting your designer.

Ok, let’s say you’ve chosen a designer who only builds your site. That means you’re going to need to provide images specific to your business - preferably high quality ones. You can hire a photographer and get a professional photoshoot done, but taking your own photos is also a completely viable option. Just make sure they’re not blurry or out of focus, and that they capture the look and feel of your business. If you don’t  have a ton of photos you can give to your designer, you can always request they help fill in the gaps with stock photos (there are plenty of free stock images available, so if you ask your designer to do this make sure they aren’t charging you for it - or that the price is rolled into your package.)

Let’s talk for a minute about branding.

If you already have a logo - perfect! You can just include that with your images when sending to your designer. Your designer can then use your logo to build out the rest of your site’s colors, which will ensure you have a cohesive look that will be recognizable to visitors. 

If you don’t have a logo - not to worry! You’ll just need to take the extra step of getting one designed for you. If you do, make sure to have a conversation with the designer about your intentions for your business, and how you want the logo to feel.

That may seem counterintuitive (shouldn’t I be concerned with how it looks?), but images evoke feelings. Your designer will understand that and be able to work accordingly.

Review Designs

Ok, you’ve written your copy and submitted your images. Now your designer will put all those elements together into a draft site for your review.

You’ll probably be suuuuper excited to see it, so this likely goes without saying, but make sure you review this draft!

Give it more than just a once-over, too. Make sure you look at the site from a visitor’s point of view and see if it makes sense with your end goal.

Does the flow feel right? Would you rather have one section of copy placed before another? Make detailed notes to give your designer - not just for their benefit, but for yours as well. 

After all, this is going to be your website; a reflection of you. Make sure you’re happy with it!

Depending on your designer’s process, there might be a couple rounds of edits and revisions that you go through in order to get the site exactly how you want it. Just be sure to pay attention to any deadlines so you don’t miss out on any editing opportunities.

Give Feedback

This is kinda bundled in with reviewing the draft site, but make sure any feedback you give to the designer is clear and constructive.

“I want this page to feel more fun” is not super clear! 

I mentioned earlier that using emotion adjectives to describe your logo is perfectly acceptable, but that’s less true when designing an entire site. 

You might want to try “I want this page to feel more fun. Could we add a different background or some additional images here?”

That will help your designer to know exactly what you mean and how to best achieve the result you’re looking for.

You can even use other websites as examples for what you want yours to look like. This can be especially helpful if you’re not good at describing things with words, because you can just point to the things you like. Getting visual examples is helpful for the designer, too, because there’s less ambiguity.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions! Designers won’t be offended if you ask why they did something in a particular way, and that's a much better approach than demanding they change an element that “just looks ugly.”

Remember: the most useful feedback is precise, but not restrictive.

What does that mean? When giving feedback describe the problem, but don’t necessarily include how to solve it.

When you describe the issue, you’re allowing the designer to gain a better understanding of your thought process (similar to a doctor diagnosing a disease).

If you only offer solutions on how to solve the problem that’s like telling the doctor what you need to cure your symptoms individually, when there might be a completely different treatment that would solve everything together.

Here are some examples of helpful and less helpful feedback:

Helpful

• I want to draw more attention to this area

• I was thinking the top navigation would look like X. Is there a reason it looks like Y?

• Let’s stick with the colors in my brand palette for the text in all sections

Less Helpful

• I just don’t like it

• It just doesn’t have that WOW factor

• Make this section more jazzy

Sign Off on Designs on Time

Approving design drafts in a timely manner will keep the project running on track, and also help you and the designer not to get frustrated. After all, you’re both in this together!

What might seem like a small change to you may take hours for your designer to accomplish, so having all your edits submitted by the deadline is quite important.

It’s also important to review your contract and make sure whatever edits or revisions you plan to request are actually within scope. There is a chance your designer will accommodate your request regardless, but you wmay have to pay an additional fee for anything extra.

Take Part in Testing the Site

Not every designer will request you do this, but if they do make sure you click through all the buttons and links on the draft site to double check that they do what they’re supposed to.

The last thing you want is a tiny, forgotten broken link that will send your visitors to a 404 Error page the minute your site is live.

Now, you might be saying “Isn’t that my designer’s job?” and the short answer is yes. The longer answer is that we’re all human and therefore are all capable of making mistakes. If your designer is requesting you test the draft site take it as an opportunity to double check that you haven’t forgotten anything.

Depending on the size of your site this might be a tedious task, but it’s definitely one worth doing before the site goes live! Besides checking for broken links, you’ll want to review any pop-ups or re-directs to make sure they look how you want. The animation on a pop-up might be bolder than you had intended, but you won’t know unless you go through it! 

This will also likely be the final chance you have to request any more edits and revisions, so make it count! Unless you’ve contracted with your designer for ongoing support, the end of the project means the end so make every minute count!

Well, there you have it. Seven steps to help you prepare to work with a web designer.

Got any questions or think of anything I left off this list?

Let me know down below in the comments.

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