The first conversation with your web designer is a significant step. It's important for you both to come away from that meeting feeling confident in the brief and aligned on the vision for your site. To ensure that you get the most out of this meeting, here is a run through of what you might want to consider and prepare in advance. None of it needs to be polished or complete, just worth taking some time to think about beforehand:
Contents
- A clear idea of who your site is for and what it needs to do
- Any content and imagery you already have
- Branding and brand guidelines, if you have them
- Access to your domain and hosting
- Examples of other sites you like, and why
- Deciding on who it is that signs each element off
- Any fixed dates the project needs to work around
- It is the thought that counts
A clear idea of who your site is for and what it needs to do
This is the single most useful thing to consider, and the clearer you can be, the better. Don't feel like you need to prepare a full strategy document, just an answer to the two following questions: who is going to land on your site, and what do you want them to do once they're there. The answer to these could be as simple as book a call, fill in a form, browse through your services - whatever it is you feel you need for your business. The designer can then help you to shape what that is and sharpen it into something more specific, but the most important thing to remember is that starting with no answer at all tends to produce a website that tries to offer something for everyone and therefore lands with no one in particular.
Any content and imagery you already have
This can be photos from a recent shoot, old website copy (even if it needs rewriting), service descriptions, product descriptions, even testimonials someone left in a review. None of it needs to be in a finished state. What matters is that the designer can see what's already there rather than starting from a completely blank page. It simply helps them to shape decisions about the layout and structure much sooner in the process.
Branding and brand guidelines, if you have them
If your business already has a logo, a colour palette or formal brand guidelines, do make sure you gather them together before the first conversation. If you don't have any of those things yet, that's completely fine too. It might just mean that the branding becomes part of the wider project, which is an important thing to know before your designer starts to map layouts around colours and logos that are subject to change.
Access to your domain and hosting
This one gets overlooked so often, and it can delay the launch of your site more than almost anything else on this list. Simply making sure that you know where the domain is registered and who has login access to it before your designer gets started could end up saving you a lot of time and stress trying to track down a password no-ones used in a long time further down the line.
Examples of other sites you like, and why
Having a small selection of other websites you like the look of and the feel of (from any industry), is far more enlightening and beneficial to a designer than you might expect. It is also worth making a note of why it is that you like those sites specifically. Is it the layout, the tone of writing, or maybe how easy it is to find things? Saying "I like this one because it feels calm and easy to navigate" speaks volumes, and articulates far more than sending a link alone.
Deciding on who it is that signs each element off
Every project needs someone who is able to say yes to a design, a piece of copy, or a launch date without it going back around a committee for second opinions. If it is more than one person who needs to be in approval, that is no problem, but agreeing on who that is before work starts avoids any confusion, doubt and delay further down the line.
Any fixed dates the project needs to work around
This covers anything from a launch tied to a specific event, or peak season where the business can't afford mid build to a lease or contract ending on the old website's hosting. Whatever the reason, if there are significant dates in the diary, make them known to your designer early so they are able to accommodate. Fixed dates aren't necessarily a problem, but if the designer isn't made aware until a week before, they have far less time to make plans around it.
It is the thought that counts
None of these things need to be perfect or watertight, there can still be question marks, and information can be rough or incomplete. What's most important is that each of these factors have been considered. Doing so will not only ensure your first conversation with your designer starts with something tangible, but will also help prevent any issues or delays further into the project, so that first conversation starts from something rather than nothing.
