Before we get into this, let me just say I am not a web designer. However, I’ve worked with a lot of people who are – and a lot of customers who I’ve written web content for, so I’ve heard all the horror stories – and also quite a few ecstatic reviews.
Your web designer is not
clairvoyant!
When you start out
you have a blank page – and, unless your chosen web designer already knows you
and your business well, any site they create will be based on their best guess
and, maybe what type of site your competitors have.
The questions is,
do you want to look like everyone else?
No, probably not –
you want to stand out from the competition and that means you need to tell your
web designer what you’re aiming for.
Whether you’re
commissioning a new site or a revamp of your current site, you’ll get a better
result if you:
- Explain to the designer what you want the site to do
- Give them 6-10 examples of websites you like the look of – and, most
importantly, WHY you like them
- Provide a hi-res version logo, colour references as hex numbers (that’s
the ones that start with #) and your preferred fonts. In relation to these, it’s probably best to
have a discussion with the web designer as they will have some input into what
works and what doesn’t.
- Some information about who your target audience are, what’s important to
them and the problems you solve. While
they may not be providing the copy, it will influence the images they choose.
A picture tells a story
But only if it’s
relevant.
That banner image
at the top of the website needs to support your message. It’s not eye-candy. If you have images you want to use, then
you’ll need to provide these as hi-res versions. A picture that looks perfectly sharp when
it’s 8 cms by 3cms, can look horribly pixilated when expanded to a full screen
size for viewing on a desktop.
If you’re not
providing original images that you’ve either taken or commissioned, then be
100% sure that there are no copyright requirements for the images you
choose. Most web designers have access
to image libraries, so if you’re not sure about copyright, show the web
designer the image you like and ask them to source something similar.
If your designer
suggests scrolling marquees (image that slide in rotation), resist! Anything that moves is distracting – and
nobody sits still to wait for three or four banners to scroll through, so that
information is never seen.
Copy comes first
Unless you’ve been
told otherwise, do not expect the web designer to write your copy – most
designers aren’t commercial copywriters, although bigger companies may have a
copywriter on the team, or have a freelancer who will write content – but that will
be an additional fee.
In an ideal world
the copy should be written first, so you’re happy with the message, the
headlines, subheadings and calls to action.
A professional copywriter can help with this and your web designer will
thank you, as it will make their job much easier.
Before you decide
to write it yourself, think about whether you have studied how to position the
message for your reader, in their language and know how to write to persuade
the reader to take action. It’s not
about simply sharing information, it’s writing to persuade.
Navigation
Your web designer
will be guided by you. So a bit of
guidance!
The menu SHOULD
include ‘Home’. Not everyone knows about
clever shortcuts, don’t make them work any harder than necessary. If your web designer tells you ‘Everyone
knows to click the logo’, don’t believe them – ‘everyone’ doesn’t know that!
The next item on
the navigation should be the place you want people to go and where they’re
likely to want to go first – that is usually products or services, or both.
Contact is the last
item on your menu and About is usually the penultimate item.
Blogs, Resources,
Media Centre and other pages are usually between your sales pages and your
useful information pages (About, Contact).
There’s a ton more
– but with this information in mind, your web designer will find you to be a
client that they love working with!
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