Questions to ask your designer before a web project. I know it’s exciting to start a website for your business. This makes every business owner dream of all the possibilities that come with having their own website.
You get found on the Internet without having to advertise your business. I personally do look forward to reading messages sent to me via my website, it is awesome I tell you. Having the right content on your website does loads of marketing for you.
Questions to ask your designer before a web project
So if you’re looking to having a designer help you create a website, there are some key questions that you need to ask this designer before you hire them, if it’s an agency or him/her if it’s a freelancer. This will help you know if you’re making the right choice and also help decide on what works for you
Show off your knowledge of design with smart questions to ask your designer before you start your Webdesign project
Asking a potential designer these questions makes you look good and informed about what you want and this will also help the designer to relate with you and your ideas better and more constructively.
Questions to ask your designer before a web project
- Ask your web designer if they will review their current website with you if they have one. This is a good way to start because it’s better to know what you have existing and compare what you are looking to achieve. This will also allow the designer to come up with all the features that can be used to improve your business and marketing.
Sometimes making this review or analysis on your website can go a long way because you might not even need to have a new website done but you could need a rebrand only. You will also be advised on what needs to be included in your site if a new one will be created.
- A very good question is getting on the same page with the potential designer concerning your budget ask your potential designer if they can work with your budget. Ask them if you need to provide images or if you will need to purchase stock images. You should also ask if domain registration, hosting, and any other basic web design needs are included in the setup cost. Your budget is important when discussing so that you can start on the right footing.
The Design Process
- Ask your designer if there is a design process to follow. A designer with a design process is a good signal because this process will help you work effectively with them and also ask if there’s project management in place. Most designers adopt project management practices so that you don’t lose track of the task and go over budget.
If anything is going to change, ask how the change will be made on your project. How will it be documented? when will you need to accept the changes decided, all these will help you as a professional with your designer.
Ask about the design process and project management
- You need to ask your designer if you will be needing development work done for the kind of features you want on your website. This right here is from my personal experience I had with the client. There are a lot of features that would only be done with development and not just necessarily plug-ins or design but this was never hashed out in the beginning so it’s always better for you as a business owner to ask different questions of needing development and also just simply design.
- Also, ask your potential Web designer how your project will be managed. Would the report be sent to you weekly via email or a project management platform like Asana? or even slack, skype or WhatsApp messages/ The options are endless so talk about it.
How will the copy, images and materials needed for your design be provided?
- Assets are an important part of the project. Make sure you ask your designer the kind of assets that you need to provide. Will you be providing the copy or will there be a copywriter that the designer provides for you to do your job at an extra cost? Will branding be done by the designer? or do you need to create a brand? make sure you communicate this with the designer at length because the branding and custom images play a very important role in creating the website.
- Ask if digital marketing will be added to your website. This consists of social media marketing, email sign-ups, ask if you want to have social media icons on every page of the website and the contact form or email sign-ups for potential customers to obtain, and also collecting emails for your marketing.
- You want to be clear on the number of pages you’re getting for your website. Discuss how the cost of your website changes by the number of pages. Some designers do unlimited pages for a certain price and some designers charge by the page count.
What is the difference between template website design and custom web site design?
- A lot of people do not know the difference between a template website and the custom-made website. Ask your Designer if you’re getting a custom-made website or template for that Website. This will shed more light on the kind of work you will be getting. Most template websites don’t cost as much as a custom-made website because the template has already been created and all you need is to add your content and assets to make your website.
But remember a templated website might look like someone else’s website just with different colors and branding. Ask your website designer if you want a personalized custom-made website that will certainly be your own design and not based on any templates this custom-made website will be unique to you and will have a personal design.
Questions to ask your designer before a web project
10. Ask if there will be a CMS custom content management system on your website backend. Designers have specific CMS to use, some use word press. There are so many options available ask your Web designer what kind of CMS platform they use, how much it costs for this platform, will it be responsive on mobile devices?
11. Ask about post-launch updates. You need to ask if you will be updating your sites by yourself this is a maintenance part which is very important for your website. You do not want to leave your website stagnant for so long because it will affect your site’s search. Ask the Designer if you will be trained to update your website by yourself or if there will be a retainer fee that will allow the Designer to update for you in case anything breaks on your site.
SEO Optimization, Site Security & Design Revisions
- SEO is a site optimization you will need on your website to rank on Google. Ask how this will be added to your site and how much it costs.
- Site security is very important especially if you will be using your site for selling and receiving payments. Ask about the site security options and the cost implications.
- Also, you need to know how many revisions of design your site gets before the final design is expected to be developed. This is very important because some designers do only two reviews and while some designers go as much as three or four. You will need to ask the designer how many review rounds you’ll be getting and also you want to ask the designer if they’ll be an additional cost in case you already passed the review rounds given by a designer.
Conclusion
All these questions are very important so that you and your designer can be on the same page and be transparent with each other from the beginning to avoid conflicts. You can book a consultation call with us to get started here.
