Seven Questions Your Web Designer Should Ask You
Originally this post was going to be titled 'Questions you should ask your web designer.' Then it seemed that it would be more useful to write about what your designer should be asking you. That way, it can act as a checklist to help you find the best designer for your site. So if you're currently looking for a new website, these are the key questions that designers and developers should be asking. A web designer's job isn't simply to copy and paste your content online - they need to understand your business in order to build you the most effective site.
What is the site for?
It might seem obvious but the designer should ask you first and foremost what the website is for. For one thing, that will help you crystallise in your own mind why you need a site. Typical answers to this question would include: 'I need to promote my business', 'I want to find new clients', 'I want to raise awareness of my business', and so on.
I've asked potential clients this question in the past and seen their faces go blank. You need to understand fully what your site is for and you'll need to communicate that to your designer.
Who is the site for?
Again, it feels obvious but I guarantee there are web design companies out there who aren't interested in finding out more about the profile of likely visitors to your site. Designers need to understand what sites your typical visitors might be familiar with and what their expectations are when they come to your site. With this information they can then design a site that fits the conventions that visitors will expect from your site and their experience won't jar.
Who are your competitors?
Your designer should be asking this so that they can find out as much as possible about your business. They need to research your competitors' sites to understand how you differ, what your unique selling point is - and to be sure they design you a better site.
How will people find the site?
The design of your site, and particularly the way its content is structured, will differ according to how visitors will come to your site. If it's a brochure site, you may direct most of your clients there yourself. If you are looking to acquire new clients via your site, your designer may need to pay more attention to optimising the content for search engines. Don't assume that all sites are the same - this kind of question will establish how deeply your designer is thinking about your site.
What's your site's key message?
Your site needs to communicate what it's about to visitors within the first few seconds. It's a cliche but first impressions count. Users make decisions about you and your business very quickly based on your website, so you need to grab their attention, present a professional appearance, and tell them succinctly what makes you special.
What would be the ideal outcome of a visit to your site?
Once people have found your site what do you want them to do next? The website is not an end in itself. If you're selling products online then you'll want people to make a purchase. If your site isn't an online shop, then what should the outcome of the visit be? Often, it's simply that you'd like the user to get in touch with you. In which case, your contact section should be clearly visible to the user.
What will make visitors want to return?
Getting visitors to your site is hard; getting them to return is even harder. Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and so on allow you to connect with your visitors in ways that you couldn't previously. Your designer should be able to suggest the best ways for you to hook your visitors in and keep them coming back.
One of the best ways to encourage visitors to return is to keep giving them interesting and relevant content. When speccing out your new site, think about how you're going to add new content. It can be an expensive business to keep going back to your developer every time you want to add a news item.
Hopefully this list will have given you a few ideas the next time you're out there looking for a new website. There are far too many design companies who rely on the same templates, churning out the same site over and over. Every site should be unique - make sure you understand what is unique about yours, and make sure you find a designer who wants to understand this too.
