With all the complicated processes and decisions that go into running a startup business, it can be smart to delegate some of the tasks on your plate. For instance, choosing to hire a professional to design your website can help lighten your load considerably—but you’ll still want to have some creative control over the process along the way to ensure your vision for the site is fully realized.
Once you’ve made the decision to work with a professional Web design company to create your perfect website, your next task is to start deciding what “perfect” means to you. Before your first meeting with the design team, it’s crucial to do some preparations and to think through what you want the end result to be. What are some things you can be flexible on? What are your non-negotiables? Read on for a few tips to help guide your thoughts as you get ready for the initial brainstorm session.
Describe what you do
Bear in mind that your designer may have only a vague grasp of what it is that your company does or what services it provides. Helping him to understand your mission can go a long way toward ending up with a functional website that appropriately reaches the target audience.
To paint a clear picture of your business for your designer, come up with an “elevator speech” to describe what you do. Include any and all details you think are relevant: company culture, the history of your start-up or your commitment to the community. But try to keep it fairly short; after all, as Shakespeare once astutely pointed out, “Brevity is the soul of wit.”
Choose your Colors
One simple decision you can make without the help of your designer is which colors you want to feature prominently on your site. Making this decision beforehand will help prevent you from being swayed by anyone else during the design process. Do a little research: Certain colors can evoke particular moods and emotions in their viewers; you want to be sure you’re sending the right message with your choice of hues.
Have a Logo in Mind
If possible, come to the table with an idea of what you want your company logo to look like. The best logos are simple with relatively few extraneous details, so it may be possible for you to draw—by hand or digitally—a basic mock-up of the symbol or insignia you have in mind.
Bring some Examples
You never want to be derivative, but it’s often tremendously helpful for designers to see examples of work you like in order to get an idea of what you’re going for. Come to the table with a list of sites you find visually appealing or that hit the same notes you’d like to hit. These might be competitors’ sites or they might be completely unrelated to what your company does; either way, they’ll give your designer a solid jumping-off point.
Conducting a bit of legwork on your own before your preliminary meeting with your Web designer can save everyone a lot of time and effort down the line. Think through what you’re ultimately hoping to achieve with your site and how best to communicate that to your designer. Doing so will help you achieve the ideal end result without hitting too many bumps along the way.
