Preparing your website: how to outline a (tidy!) project for your designer
Preparing a website can be daunting, especially if you’re unsure with how it works. This guide is for clients who want to plan a neat, digestible outline for their project. In doing so, you’ll learn more about what makes a great website, plus you’ll earn brownie points with your designer!
Your project at a glance
To begin, let’s look at the broader strokes. Designers have various ways of receiving an outline from their clients. Personally, I use a detailed form that gathers the essential info. Others might ask that you submit a project brief. One way or another, these are the kind of things you’ll be required to provide…
- Write down your goals
- Identify the must-haves
- Design inspiration
- Prepare site structure
- Page-by-page details
- Gather photos/videos etc
1. Declare Your Goals
In a dream scenario, what would the website do? Getting leads and selling products is a given; consider goals that are unique to your business. What problems would you ideal website solve? For example:
Mechanical Engineering Firm
“We have two principal branches: domestic and commercial. Each caters to a completely different type of customer. We want it to be easy for visitors to differentiate between these and find the quote they need without getting distracted.”
Marketing Agency
“We’re a small, personable company with a charismatic team. By visiting our website we want customers to feel like they’ve met us in person. If the website can get them as excited as we are, we’ll handle the rest.”
Parish Church
“We want our website to become a hub for the local community. It should be clear and navigable for all interests and age ranges, and communicate the inclusive and friendly nature of our village.”
2. Identify Your “Must-Haves”
Essential Features
If there’s an enquiry form, what fields are required? If there’s an online shop, what payment system would you like to use? Point out any must-have features that users will interact with. These include slideshows, photo galleries, newsletters, shopping carts or quote forms.
Preferred Deadline
Give plenty of berth between your deadline and any planned events. Make sure it’s realistic to your work schedule and how quickly you can deliver feedback to your designer.
Outline Your Budget
Discussing budgets with your designer shouldn’t be a case of who blinks first. On this topic, I can do no better than to refer you to Mike Monteiro’s piece: Why I Need To Know Your Budget. It’s from 2013 but is just as relevant today. I’ll see you back here in a couple of minutes.
3. Design Inspiration
Is there anything out there you particularly like the look of? It can be an entire website, or constituent parts: the slideshow here, the colour scheme there. The more inspiration you can send, the better.
Research competitors in your local area, and similar industries from further afield. What is it about their websites that you’d like to match? Send links, screenshots and annotations where possible.
Where to go for inspiration:
Or, just google {your industry} + {design inspiration} and see what shows up!
4. Know Thy Page Structure
Pages are the foundation on which a website is built. You might have a clear content plan, or you might have no idea! This is where a sitemap comes in handy.
How to plan a sitemap
In its simplest form, a sitemap is a bullet list of pages, with occasional indents showing subcategories. They’re an important outline for your content. Your sitemap might go something like this:
- Homepage
- About Us
- Services
- Plumbing
- Heating
- Electrical
- Case Studies
- Contact
Easy, right? If you submit that to your designer, they can cross-reference it with your business goals and make suggestions on which pages could be split or merged.
5. Page-By-Page Outlines
Consider the following information for each page in your sitemap:
- Page title: Home, About Us, Services etc….
- Page content: Write what comes to mind, splitting into subheadings where required. If your designer knows SEO, they’ll suggest tweaks to optimise for keywords and conversions.
- Unique features: Will this page have a slideshow? Does it feature an enquiry form? If there’s something special about this page that makes it stand out, mention it!
More Goals
Besides the broader aspirations of the website, you might have goals for specific pages. For example:
“Our History: To convey the years of hard work our charity have provided for the local community.”
“About Us: To emphasise that we are family-run and pride ourselves on the finest, homegrown produce.”
6. Photos & Media
From logos and personnel to the interior walls of your restaurant – every web design project needs images. Before work begins, make sure your designer has as many photos as possible. The more they see, the better acquainted they’ll be with your business.
Logos
Polished final designs, or mere mockups you’ve knocked together in a spare evening. Ask if these can be changed/neatened accordingly.
People
You, your partnership or your staff. Think of your business’s context, and if possible try and take some of you ‘in action’ e.g. running a workshop, cooking, meeting clients. Passport-style mugshots are also great for professional profiles.
Your Environment
Whether you work in an office or in the open air, take photos of your working environment.
Products
If you sell a specific item, get some nice, clear snaps of it. Try and keep a white, clutter-free background in case the designer needs to Photoshop it for later.
Abstract
Websites are made of shapes, colours and textures. The closer these look to your business, the better. For every photo you take of your shop floor, snap another from a different angle. You never know when it might come in handy.
Remember, your designer probably has access to Photoshop, so don’t worry if photos look rough around the edges. What’s important is they receive a bunch of material that reflects your business and personality. If you’re short on stock photos, look for commercial-use photography on the internet such as The Stocks or Pixabay.
For an in-depth guide to website photos, check out this article.
What Else?
Besides all this, have a chat with your designer! Nothing beats an actual conversation. The more they know about your business and goals, the better. This, alongside a clear workflow, will make for the best results.
Good luck!
Written by Bruce Sigrist in: Guides
