Web Design Tips for Working with Your Designer
When you hire a professional web designer to build you a website or renovate the design of your existing site, you are putting your faith in them and trusting them to create the website of your dreams. The problem is that many times the website owner does not fully understand the limitations of a design or the fact that anything pretty can be designed/drawn but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be right for your site or that it will be functional.
Often website owners will bring images that have been done by a graphic designer and ask the website designer to “build it” but they don’t understand why it might not all come out looking exactly like the graphics. This is like drawing a picture of a mansion but then asking someone to build a mansion. Well, do you have the space for it? Do you have the resources and the budget for it? What functionality does your mansion need to have? There are far more factors that go into building a great working website other than just a pretty picture.
Understanding these limitations will make it much easier when working with your web designer. Here are some tips to working well with your designer:
Trust who you Hire- You hired them so make sure you step and let them do their job. All too often, the website owner wants to be so involved that they actually hinder the process of work for the designer. It’s great to be a part of the process but sometimes you need to step back a little and let them do their work. Every website designer has a process, or the way that they do things, and it’s sometimes like looking at a painting before it is complete. The pieces may not all come together yet. You just need to wait and trust that they will do what you hired them to deliver.
Ask Questions- Just because you’re supposed to trust who you hire doesn’t mean you cannot and should not ask questions. Your web designer is there to help you and this includes explaining things about your web design that you don’t understand. Good communication is key to the relationship so if you have questions at any point along the process, you should always bring these to the attention of your web designer.
Don’t Ask them to Copy- While it’s ok to take inspiration from other websites that you like, you should never tell your web designer “Make me a site just like this one” or “Just copy this site but make it mine”. First, there are laws about direct copying, especially from a competitor and secondly, why do you want someone else’s web design when you’re paying for your own, original design? Your brand should stand out and your website is one way to do this. Taking inspiration on certain elements is ok; direct copying is not.
A great web design is one of the most important factors in your website. It should look good, be functional and properly suit your brand. If you trust the professional that you hired, then you sometimes need to step back and let them take the reins and build you something great for you. If you could do it yourself, you wouldn’t need to hire someone. This doesn’t mean you are at the complete mercy of your website designer, even when you’re not happy with the work but it does mean you should do your part to help the process along and work with your designer.
With these tips, you can improve the relationship between you and your web designer and end up with the website you wanted and needed.
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