To achieve outstanding results on your website design project, you need to ensure the communication with your web design team is stellar. Let’s explore ways to improve your Communication With Your Web Designer.
Your web design team will thrive when you provide them with the information they need when they need it.
Before you start your project, you will need to hire your web design team. Look for a team you trust, with whom communicating is easy and with whom you feel at ease. Peruse through their body of work and make sure you like their style; if their style appeals to you, you will likely share the same design aesthetic.
The tips below will help you to improve your communication with your web design team and get your next project started on the right foot:
10 Ways To Improve Your Communication With Your Web Design Team
- Clear Vision
- Honesty is the best policy
- Don’t rush it
- Set well-defined goals
- Take your hands off the wheel
- Appoint a project lead
- Organise and clarify your changes
- Address the issues
- Rely on your web design team to present their best
- Put your plans in writing
1. Clear Vision
If you have a specific idea of how your website should look, feel or perform, make sure you make your vision clear right from the start of your project.
Ensuring your web design team is aiming at the same goal will help you to avoid costly revisions and disappointments. Beginning with a clear vision in mind helps keep your project on track to achieve all you envision.
Sharing your ideas early means that if there is an issue with one of the items on your website wishlist, your web design team has the opportunity to explain the matters to you and to discuss viable alternative suggestions. This will keep your costs down, save time and keep your project on schedule.
2. Honesty is the best policy
Be detailed when describing your expectations, your timeline and your budget so your web design team can deliver their very best to you.
Be honest in providing a priority list of what elements are important to you and following on with those things that are of lesser importance. This way, your web design team will know where to spend their time and where it is okay to spend a little less time to save you money. Your team can only deliver what you want, when you want and to budget, if you make these things clear from the beginning.
3. Don’t rush it
Plan ahead and allow as much time as possible for your project. An ample timeframe ensures your web design team can devote the required time to deliver a quality product – with all the wrinkles ironed out before the launch date.
4. Set well-defined goals
Instead of asking your web design team to build you a website, be sure to communicate exactly what you want your website to achieve so your web design team can help you meet those goals.
What results are you hoping to achieve with your new web design project? Are you looking for a website that sells, such as an eCommerce site, or for a website that informs? Your goals will firmly move your project in a certain direction, so setting well-defined goals, in conjunction with your web design team, is very important at the beginning of your project.
5. Take your hands off the wheel
Web design, when done well, will communicate through the design and content. Every element, just like every word, is carefully crafted to deliver a project with a consistent look, feel and message.
Avoid micromanaging and trust that the team you hired will use their expertise and skill to deliver on your feedback.
Most web design projects are more effective when the web design team have control of the content and the visual aspects of the project. Allowing the complete message of your web design project to be controlled by your web design team ensures a strong, cohesive and seamless result.
6. Appoint a project lead
Choose a project manager, spokesperson or project lead – but no matter what title you give them, it is wise to nominate only one person from your firm to handle all of the communications between your company and the web design team.
Although there will likely be many people that will have input (and sign-off) on the project when all queries, changes and feedback are filtered through just one contact person, it removes the likelihood of confusion, double-ups (and costly extra billable hours).
Streamline your communication channel from the start, and benefit from the results!
7. Organise and clarify your changes
Clearly address any changes and edits. Be as specific as you can and write out your edits clearly. Include the location with as many details as you can regarding any changes, for example: ‘on the “About Us” page, the third sentence, change “Mike Smith” to “Michael Smith”.’
Keep your information organised so that updates, corrections, edits and changes can be undertaken efficiently.
Rather than send back corrections one at a time, group your feedback logically, providing an edit list for each webpage (or project section).
8. Address the issues
Detail the issues and allow your web design team to offer solutions.
Your web designers will carefully consider each element of your website’s design. Asking for “the heading to be larger” on one page, for example, may mean the heading font size on several different pages will need to be made larger to maintain consistent design across your site.
So, instead of asking for specific design changes, address the issue. For example, the heading doesn’t seem to stand out on this page as it does on the others; how can we tackle that?
9. Rely on your web design team to present their best
As with any project, it is important to trust your team. Your web design team is there to help your project reflect your vision, so help them to help you by answering their questions as thoroughly as possible so the process can run as smoothly as possible.
You may be asked a lot of questions that you may not think are relevant, but it is important to remember that along with user experience, your marketing, brand identity and positioning, as well as your company’s mission statement and goals, will each come into play as your web designers formulate your project’s overall design.
As they say, the devil is in the detail – and it is in discovering these details that allow your designers to deliver the right results to you.
10. Put your plans in writing
Having written goals keeps everyone on the same page, so to speak. It is a great reference point for all sides and drives action.
Having everything discussed in writing ensures nothing slips through the cracks and keeps the project’s focus on the important, mutually-agreed goals.
As part of your action plan, detail who will supply progress reports and to whom they will be sent.
You can also create a timeline (even if it is only a loose guideline), as this often helps those coming to the project late understand what has been achieved – and what is still work in progress.
By following these tips, you will be on the right path to building a fruitful relationship with your web design team.
Your website is a collaborative project. Both you and your design team should be working towards the objective of producing an innovative and functional website that will deliver on all your goals, embody your vision and generate positive user experiences. That is why selecting the right partner for your next web design project can be the key to a successful result.
A good web design team will deliver the work you hired them to do, a great web design team will do this and more – and hopefully become your trusted project partner during the process!
You want a web design team that will help you elevate your business. Getting the communication right from the very start will help you achieve your vision.
We would love to partner on your next project with you. With over 10 years of experience, Pixel Fish is renowned for creating engaging websites that convert!
Take that next step and get in touch with Pixel Fish. We can arrange a time to sit down with you for a website planning session to gain a clear idea of the look and feel you envisage for your website and ensure your website’s navigation, visual elements, and content are perfect.
Let Sydney’s leading Web Design Agency take your business to the next level with a Pixel Fish Small Business Website.
Check out some of our latest Website Design projects.
Further Information
Top 10 Steps to Start a Successful Online Store
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How to Successfully Balance UX and SEO for The Most Effective Website
10 Reasons Your Website Is Fundamental to the Growth of Your Business
