Thinking of hiring a website designer? Do this first.
Your checklist for getting the best return on your web design investment
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Thinking of taking the plunge and investing in a new website?
🍾 AWESOME 🙌
I want to help you get the best return on your time and investment, so here are a couple of things to consider talking about with your designer during your initial consultation:
01. Does your web designer work primarily with e-commerce or service-based businesses?
The strategies, design process, and website platform you use are very different based on this one factor. If you're looking to launch an online store, work with a designer who specializes in eCommerce – and ideally has experience with Shopify.
02. What back-end functionality do you need and what digital tools are you already using for your business?
Your website doesn't exist just to look pretty, it should solve problems for you. Talk about what functions you'll need – like online scheduling, payment processing, customer logins, email marketing, etc.
03. How do you anticipate your business – and your website needs – growing in the next 2+ years?
How can you plan your site design to prepare for those needs now, so that you don't have to reinvent the wheel later?
With these things in mind, you're now ready to find your match! But keep in mind, there’s quite a lot that you should have prepared before you begin the design process. If you have all of your ducks in a row, it will not only streamline your project process and make it easier for your designer to do a great job — it will set your entire foundation for getting the best possible return on your investment. Because make no mistake, investing in your website is a huge investment in your business!
Read on for all the things you should have prepared before you even reach out to a web designer.
The 5 things you need before you begin designing your website
1. Brand strategy & website goals
Having a solid brand strategy rooted in understanding your ideal client is key to any great brand. You should take thoughtful, intentional time to identify what your brand values are, and who you serve. What tangible problem does your audience face, and how does the product or service that you provide solve this problem for them?
Your website supports your brand strategy and should be designed with a focus on your overall goals for your site. How do you envision your website elevating your business? Maybe your new site will allow your clients to automatically schedule appointments with you. Or it will offer you a platform to sell products digitally, reach a wider audience through a blog, or help you start an email list.
2. Website outline & site map
Your website functionality is dependent on the platform you use. You should research different platforms — Squarespace, Shopify, Showit, Wordpress, etc. — to see which might be the best fit for your business needs. If you’re already using digital tools like Square payment processing, Acuity online scheduling, Opentable reservations, or others, you’ll want to ensure that the platform you want to use can support and integrate these third-party systems smoothly into your site design.
Your designer can help you find the best fit for your needs, but it helps if you have a thorough understanding of what your needs are before you start having conversations about design.
P.S. It’s not your designer’s responsibility to ensure that your chosen URL is available! Purchase your URL or make sure it’s still available before you start working on your site. And, of course, always make sure that your business name is registered with the necessary state and federal licenses and doesn’t conflict with any trademarks.
3. Website content & brand design
Before any work can begin on your website design, you need to have your brand design finalized. This means that you have EXACT colors and fonts to provide to your designer. Your designer is responsible for your website design, not your brand components.
What this looks like:
✔️ Providing color HEX codes or color swatches
✔️ Sharing logo files and any brand illustrations or patterns
✔️ Listing the names of your brand fonts for headlines and paragraph text
What this does not look like:
❌ Sending inspiration photos of color palettes
❌ Waiting until after hiring a website designer to hire a graphic designer to create your logo
❌ Asking your website designer to pick the fonts for your website (unless that’s been agreed upon and paid for under your project’s scope of work!)
4. Professional photography for your website
When it comes to your website, your brand photography is just as visually important as your branding. Depending on the nature of your business, you may be able to build out a beautiful, effective site with great stock photography (I recommend checking out Pexels and Unsplash for this!) However, it’s highly encouraged that you invest in professional brand photos.
Plan to have a photoshoot scheduled before you begin working on your site. Planning a shoot specifically for your website will ensure that you have cohesive, intentional visuals.
5. Website copywriting
In addition to photography, the most common delay in web design projects is waiting on website copywriting to be completed. If you don’t have a website copywriting strategy yet, I’d love to support you with that!
Need some help designing your Squarespace website?
I would be delighted to lend a hand — and all of my expertise. 😇 Here’s how I can do just that:
Full-service website design, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything you just read — I can do it all for you.
DIY Squarespace website templates, designed to help you get your (beautiful, strategic, unique, easy-to-use) website launched ASAP with minimal effort & minimal investment.
Done-for-you copywriting services, where I make sure your website is selling for you, attracting customers you can’t wait to work with, and getting found on Google. You need this if your site already looks great, but you’re not reaching your sales goals.
& if you’re looking for more conversations about the stresses, trials, and tribulations of being a small business owner ( and all the tools, tricks, and tips I’ve learned to make it easier along the way ) —
I send out a newsletter every other week. Because sending one once a week felt too overwhelming. Relatable? Then you’re going to like it. Subscribe here.
