Communicating with a web designer can be the most difficult
part of the hiring process because you and the web designer
don’t speak the same language when talking about the
details of a website. This article explains how to get your
ideas across to the web designer you want to hire.
Ok, so you’ve decided to hire a professional web designer
to build your website. You spent some time looking for the
right person. Eventually you found the right web designer
that you believe will design the most “remarkable”, “extraordinary” website
the internet community has yet seen.
So now what? Explaining to the web designer the layout design
you have in your mind can be a very frustrating process.
You will find that putting the “picture” in your
mind into words can be a difficult task. Actually in most
cases this is the biggest hurdle between you and the final
outcome. No matter how talented the web designer is, if you
can not communicate with him properly, in his own professional
language, he will not be able to use his talent to achieve
your design.
There are two possible situations you may face:
- You know what content you want on the website
but have no clue how to present it to the user.
- You know what content you want on the website,
and you have the layout in your mind, but you don’t
know how to implement it
In both cases you will need to explain your thoughts to
the web designer. Although most people who read those lines
are probably thinking that being in the second situation
is better then being in the first situation. However, real
life experience shows the opposite to be true. Giving a web
designer the complete freedom of action regarding the web
design based solely on the website content is usually a smart
thing to do. You will find that explaining to the web designer
what the nature of your website is, whether it’s a
product that you want to sell or a hobby item, is much easier
then trying to explain to him the temperate of the color
schema or an undefined shape that you would like to have
in the website header.
Actually for both of the situations, I would suggest you
use the same approach, but with a minor modification to each
situation. If you know of a website that has all the features
you want or need and/or a site that looks the way you want
your site to look, be sure to give the site’s url to
the web designer. Doing so will give him some idea of want
you want. You will both be looking at the same thing but
will actually look at it from a different angle. Therefore,
it may be better to give him more than one website as an
example.
The more websites you find that can express your feelings
and/or needs, the easier it will be for web designers to
understand your intention without you having to use a single “technical” term.
Chances are that you won’t find a single website that
has all of the feature you want. After all, if such a website
already exists there would be no place for your new web site
to be born. Use several websites to express the different
features you want. Spend as much time as necessary until
you find just the right websites to provide examples of your
needs. Doing research at this stage will definitely save
you a lot of time later trying to point the web designer
in the right direction.
Although you are the one who needs to express your self
to the web designer, you must learn to listen to him as well.
When he uses technical terms, ask for their meaning. Do not
finish any part of the conversation unless you are absolutely
sure that both sides are on the same page. Remember that
when a web designer speaks about the temperature of a color,
he is not talking about the next day’s forecast.
Remember, you hired a professional web designer because
you want a professional looking website and you couldn’t
do it yourself. So, trust the web designer’s judgment
when they tell you something you want won’t work or
isn’t the best way to accomplish your goals. After
all, you are paying them for their expertise. Don’t
try to tell them how to do their job.
It is OK to require that a web designer gets your approval
each step of the way so you can tell them if one of your
goals isn’t being met. Also, if you really don’t
like how something looks and want it changed, tell them immediately.
Don’t wait until everything is done and then decide
you don’t like it.
A final word about cost
You have agreed on what needs to be done and the web designer
has given you a price quote. Simple modifications and bug
fixes are usually included in the price. However, other major
changes or outright revisions may or may not be included.
Make sure the agreement states what is included, what constitutes
a revision rather than a fix, and how many changes you can
make after delivery without incurring additional costs.
About the Author:
Warren Baker is an Internet business consultant for WebDesigners123.
WebDesigners123 connects the
Freelance
Web Designer with Webmasters who need their services.
If you would like to read more of Warren Baker’s writings,
visit our
Website
Design Articles page.
