Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles or challenges for business owners who are ready to increase their online footprint is the intimidation that goes along with dipping their toe into the website design space. It’s one thing to know that your business needs a new or better website. It’s an entirely different thing to know how to make that new or better website happen.
Unfortunately, the intimidation surrounding technology, web design, and coding often makes business owners completely freeze in their tracks. Those who freeze end up completely unable to make a decision and much too intimidated to learn how to create a website on their own.
The good news? You don’t have to feel paralyzed and unable to take the next steps in your online business plan. You just need to find someone to create your new or better website for you. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you build your confidence, choose a designer, and get what you want.
You Don’t Need Technology Training
The average business owner doesn’t know a whole lot about web design or coding, let alone optimization strategies or navigation options. It’s okay if you don’t either.
You don’t have to have a wide base of knowledge to effectively communicate with potential designers. Instead, you just need to have a solid knowledge of your audience and the goals of your website.
Fortunately, most business owners are excellent at pinpointing their current and intended audience, as well as their business goals. Now you just need to work on creating a website that appeals to your audience and contributes to your goals. In order to find ideas of how to make that happen, check out some other websites to see how your experience is while visiting. Consider your competitor’s sites, but don’t stop there; find a few sites you love and jot down why you love them. These observations can help you articulate to your designer what kind of functionality you want in your scope.
When you are able to give details about your audience, goals, and functionality hopes, your web developer will be able to work out the best technology to make it happen.
Write a Scope of Work
Your designer cannot give you the website you want without knowing what you want from your website. Even the best designer is not a mind-reader, though their experience can work for you as a guide.
Compiling a scope of work is the best way to tell a designer what you need, and you don’t need to use tech-savvy words to give them that information. Instead, you are going to talk about what you already know very well: your audience, your goals, and what you want the user-experience to be like.
Choose an Experienced Designer
Now that you have a scope of work ready to go, it’s time to find a designer that meets your budget and can meet your desired timeline. You’ll want to find someone that is experienced as well as one that understands your company’s niche or online personality. While that quality is not necessary, it can make the process a bit easier for everyone.
When choosing a designer, give them your scope of work. They will use this document to create a more accurate bid for their work. Further, you can benefit from their expertise when they ask you questions or clarifications on the scope you have written.
Getting What You Want
Once you choose a designer, they will begin work on your site based on the scope of work you have both agreed to. This document makes expectations clear for both of you, but it doesn’t mean that you both are locked into it.
The design process will include drafts and revisions, remember to give concrete feedback or express any concerns during this time in order for the designer to make the appropriate changes.
Remember, don’t freeze! Make decisions about your online business experience just like you make decisions for other parts of your company: based on customer service, your audience, and your product or service.
