By Esther Ocampo
Discover the 10 critical things your web designer needs to know before creating your website. Ensure a successful and seamless web development process with these expert insights.
Your Website.
Creating a website is more than just creating a design and filling it with content. For a website to be truly effective, there’s a lot of foundational work that needs to happen before any design begins. A web designer must have a clear understanding of your vision, goals, and requirements to create a site that meets your needs and exceeds your expectations. This blog outlines the 10 essential things your web designer needs to know before starting the design process. By understanding these key elements, you’ll ensure a smoother development process and end up with a website that aligns perfectly with your business objectives.
1. Your Business Goals
Understanding the Purpose of Your Website
Before any design work begins, your web designer needs a deep understanding of your business goals. Are you wanting to generate leads, sell products, build brand awareness, or provide information? The purpose of your website will dictate its structure, design, and functionality. For example, an e-commerce site will require different features compared to a portfolio site. Be clear about your primary and secondary goals so the designer can prioritise the elements that will help achieve them.
Translating Goals into Design
Once your goals are established, the designer can create a layout and user journey that aligns with these objectives. A website focused on lead generation might include prominent call-to-action buttons and forms, while a content-heavy site might prioritise easy navigation and search functions.
2. Target Audience
Defining Your Audience
Understanding who will be visiting your website is crucial. Your web designer needs to know your target audience’s demographics, interests, and online behaviour. Are you targeting millennials, professionals, or retirees? The more precise the information, the better your designer can tailor the site to appeal to your audience. Are there any accessibility needs to be taken into consideration at the design stage? It’s important to relay these to your web designer early on in the process to facilitate the inclusion of these elements.
User-Centric Design
With the target audience in mind, the designer can create a user experience (UX) that resonates with your visitors. This includes everything from the colour scheme and typography to the layout and content strategy. For instance, a website aimed at younger audiences might feature bold colours and interactive elements, while a site for an older demographic might prioritise simplicity and readability.
3. Branding Guidelines
Consistent Branding Across Platforms
Your website should be an extension of your brand, so it’s essential that your web designer is familiar with your branding guidelines. This includes your logo, colour palette, fonts, and overall style. Consistency in branding helps build trust and recognition, which is vital for long-term success.
Incorporating Brand Identity
The designer will incorporate your brand’s identity into the website’s design. This goes beyond just colours and logos; it includes the overall tone, imagery, and messaging. A cohesive brand presence across all platforms, including your website, will strengthen your brand and make a lasting impression on visitors.
4. Competitor Analysis
Learning from the Competition
Competitor analysis is a valuable step in the design process. By examining what your competitors are doing well (and not so well), your web designer can identify opportunities for differentiation. This analysis can reveal trends in your industry, user expectations, and potential design ideas that you might not have considered. This is why they ask you for examples of websites that you like (as well as giving them an insight into your tastes and style)
Standing Out in the Market
The goal is not to copy your competitors but to understand the landscape and find ways to stand out. Whether it’s through unique design elements, a different content strategy, or superior user experience, your website should offer something that your competitors don’t.
5. Required Features and Functionality
Defining Essential Features
Before designing, your web designer needs a clear list of features and functionality that the website must have. This could include e-commerce capabilities, blog sections, contact forms, social media integration, or anything else that’s critical to your business. If you’re not sure what these essential elements are before starting, take a look at what your competitors have on their sites – they are there for a reason.
Planning for Future Needs
It’s also important to think ahead. Your business may grow, and your website will need to scale with it. Discuss potential future requirements with your designer so they can build a flexible site that can adapt to your evolving needs.
6. Content Strategy
The Role of Content
Content is king in the digital world. Whether it’s text, images, videos, or infographics, your content needs to engage your audience and drive them towards your business goals. Before starting the design process, your web designer needs to know what kind of content will be featured and how it will be presented.
Collaboration on Content Creation
You might have existing content that needs to be incorporated into the new design, or you might be starting from scratch. Either way, your designer should work closely with you (or your content team) to ensure that the design complements the content and vice versa. This includes determining where content will be placed, how it will be organised, and what tone it will convey.
7. SEO Considerations
Optimising for Search Engines
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a critical factor in your website's success. Your web designer needs to build the site with SEO best practices in mind, which include proper use of headings, meta descriptions, alt text for images, and fast-loading pages. It’s important to note, though, that most web designers are not SEO experts and will only do what is within their capabilities to do. This most likely will not include on-page SEO on blogs or other content.
Incorporating SEO from the Start
SEO shouldn’t be an afterthought; it should be integrated into the design from the beginning. Discuss your SEO strategy with your designer so they can create a structure that supports it. This might involve designing for mobile-first indexing, optimising images and videos, and ensuring the site is easily crawlable by search engines.
8. Website Speed and Performance
Importance of Fast Loading Times
Website speed is crucial for both user experience and SEO. Slow-loading pages can frustrate visitors and lead to higher bounce rates. Your web designer needs to prioritise performance by optimising images, minimising code, and leveraging fast hosting solutions.
Balancing Design and Performance
While an aesthetically pleasing design is important, it should not come at the expense of performance. The designer should find a balance between visual appeal and fast loading times. This might involve using modern design techniques that are lightweight and efficient.
9. Mobile Responsiveness
Designing for All Devices
With the majority of internet users accessing websites from mobile devices, mobile responsiveness is non-negotiable. Your web designer needs to ensure that your website looks and functions well on screens of all sizes, from desktops to smartphones.
Testing Across Devices
Mobile responsiveness involves more than just resizing elements. The designer should test the site on various devices to ensure that it delivers a seamless experience across the board. This includes checking for usability, readability, and navigation on smaller screens.
10. Security Requirements
Protecting User Data
Website security is a critical concern, especially if your site will handle sensitive information like customer data or payment details. Your web designer needs to implement security best practices, such as SSL certificates, secure hosting (preferably dedicated hosting), and regular updates.
Ensuring Ongoing Security
Security doesn’t stop once the site is live. The designer should set up mechanisms for ongoing security monitoring and updates. This includes protecting against common threats like hacking, malware, and data breaches.
Other considerations
- Having a way to measure your website performance once it is live is important. If you don’t have Google Analytics (GA4) set up, ask your web designer to set it up for you. If you already have an account, make sure your web designer gets it so the new/improved site is connected to the account. This is especially important if you are changing platforms.
- When setting up GA4, ask your web designer to also set up Google Business Profile which allows your physical business to be included in Google Maps (making the search for your products/services easier on those who are looking).
- Your website will have costs involved throughout the year. These costs include the domain, hosting, updates (unless previously discussed with your web designer to be included in a monthly package). Failure to keep up with these costs will cause your website to be taken down, making it more difficult for your potential clients to find you.
FAQs
What are the first steps I should take before working with a web designer? Before you start working with a web designer, you should clearly define your business goals, understand your target audience, and prepare any branding materials you have. Additionally, research your competitors and decide on the key features and functionality you need.
How important is mobile responsiveness for a new website? Mobile responsiveness is extremely important because a significant portion of users access websites via mobile devices. A responsive design ensures your website provides a good user experience across all device types, which is also a factor in SEO rankings.
Should I focus on design or content first? Both design and content are important and should be developed in tandem. However, having a content strategy in place can guide the design process, ensuring that the layout effectively showcases your content.
What role does SEO play in web design? SEO plays a critical role in web design as it affects how your site will rank in search engines. Good web design practices include using proper HTML tags, optimising load times, and ensuring mobile responsiveness—all of which contribute to better SEO.
How can I ensure my website is secure? To ensure your website is secure, work with your web designer to implement SSL certificates, use secure hosting, and keep software and plugins updated. Regular security audits and backups are also essential.
How do I make my website stand out from competitors? To make your website stand out, focus on providing a superior user experience, unique design elements, and valuable content that meets your audience’s needs better than your competitors do. Analysing competitor websites can also help identify gaps you can exploit.
Conclusion
Building a website is a complex process that requires careful planning and collaboration between you and your web designer. By understanding and communicating your business goals, target audience, branding, and functional requirements, you can ensure that your designer creates a website that not only looks great but also performs well and achieves your objectives. With these 10 essential considerations, you’ll be well on your way to launching a successful website that serves as a powerful tool for your business.