10 Questions To Ask A Website Designer
Have you been thinking of hiring a Designer to bring your dream site to life?
It’s so important to make sure you are fully aligned with the website designer that you hire.
Most designers will offer a free consultation prior to you making any type of commitment with them, and you might wonder “what do I even ask during this call”.
You really need to take advantage of this time!
The consultation is a great time for you and the designer to determine if you are aligned to work together. Not every designer is right for the client and not every client is right for every designer.
You want to make sure the style they create is similar to the style you are looking for.
For example, I absolutely love bold and beautiful designs however I create minimalistic designs with neutral color palettes.
This is the first thing you need to do before you even schedule a consultation call. Make sure the designer creates designs aligned with the vision you have for your branding and website!
Once you find a Website Designer who aligns with your vision, here is a list of questions to make sure you ask during your free consultation call
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Do you do branding and website design?
Branding and Website Design are not the same thing!
“Branding is the process of creating a distinct identity for a business in the mind of your target audience and consumers. At the the most basic level, branding is made up of a company’s logo, visual design, mission, and tone of voice.”
The color palette and fonts you choose are also a part of your branding.
They help create a feeling for your clients when they land on your website, social platforms, anywhere you are showing up!
Website Design is using these elements created for your brand and building a unique and strategic layout that converts your site visitors into customers/clients.
Some Designers do both, branding and website design but some only do one or the other.
It’s important you know exactly what your designer does and see if it is what you are looking for.
I personally am not a Graphic Designer (at this time, maybe I’ll invest in that someday).
So when I build my websites I do offer a color scheme and font pairings as a part of my package. However I don’t create logos myself.
I do work with a Graphic Designer who does this and I can offer this to my clients if they are in the market for a full branding package.
But if you aren’t in a place to invest in both branding and website design then you can choose the one you need at that time.
It’s just important to be clear on the services your designer provides
2. How can a website support my business?
Websites are a great online marketing tool!
I have heard people say they are a “nice to have” or a “vanity metric”. This cannot be farther from the truth!
If you invest in a strategically designed website and work at increasing your SEO regularly, your site will become a very strong marketing magnet for your ideal clients!
People who are searching in Google (or other search engines) are looking for a specific thing. If you can answer these clients and provide them with the information they are looking for, you’re attracting leads that are already warmed up! They’re looking for you before you show up in front of them which is kind of the opposite on social media platforms.
Understand what your website designer believes is possible for your website and what your time/money investment will look like moving forward to utilize it to its fullest potential.
3. How long will the process take?
Every Designer runs their business differently. This can be according to the services they offer, how many clients they work with at a time, etc.
Make sure you have a realistic time frame for when your website will be launched.
4. What does the process look like from start to finish?
You should have a very clear timeline of what the design process will look like. What’s your start date, what’s your end date and what’s going to happen in between.
What touch points can you expect from the designer?
What will be expected from you during this time frame?
We usually require client feedback at specific points during the design process. And if the designer has a very streamlined process they can most likely narrow down what days they will require feedback from you.
This means you need to be available for the designer to connect with you and hear back from you before they can move forward.
Why is this important? You want to make sure you aren’t booking your design dates during a busy period in your life/work.
You don’t want this to be a stressful process for yourself, and you want to make sure the designer is getting the response they need in a reasonable time so they can keep the project on track.
5. How much will this cost me?
Disclaimer: check to see if the price is listed on the designers website. Most of us will list it very clearly. If the price is out of your budget then do not book a consultation to respect yours and the designers time.
There are typically design packages offered, make sure you know exactly what is included in that package.
If you are looking for something that’s not currently included then ask what the additional costs will be for said thing.
There are additional costs that come with a website, not huge costs but subscriptions that you will need to invest in.
These will be your domain purchase, website hosting fees, and any other apps you may need to integrate depending on what functionality you require (what you need your site to be able to do!) like adding a scheduling app, payment processor, e-comm section, etc.
You know you need a website for your business but you have no idea where to start?
Don’t worry, I got you!
Sign up below to download your FREE Website Content Roadmap to get started!
6. What do you need from me?
Before we can even get started with a website design project we require information/content from our clients.
This can look like:
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The images we use on your site
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Any videos?
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Copy (the text on your site)
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Branding
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Etc.
I know, I just answered a part of this question, but again every website designer has their own process so make sure you’re clear on exactly what they need.
When you officially book with your Designer they will go into this with much more detail but having an idea of what the project requires from you is a good way to determine when you should start the project.
Along with this, ask them if they have any other options.
For example, if you don’t want to invest in a photoshoot what do they recommend?
If you don’t want to invest in a copywriter do they provide a content writing guide, etc.
7. How do I know what content needs to go on my website and how do I gather that content?
How are you supposed to know what you’re supposed to put on your website?
The truth is, you don’t know until you ask! This is your reminder to ask.
8. What does the maintenance of my website look like? Does this website require a maintenance package or can I update it myself?
It’s important you know what platform your designer builds on because every platform can look different in terms of maintenance.
Some you can easily update yourself others require hiring the designer to update as needed.
Make sure you are confident with the decision you make as you do not want any surprise costs to pop up down the road.
9. What are the deliverables?
This goes back to the packages offered by the designer.
The deliverables are going to be all of the things that are given to you by the end of the package. The things that you will own after your project is complete.
This can be the website, social media promo posts, logo’s etc.
10. Will you optimize my website for SEO?
If you aren’t familiar with SEO it is Search Engine Optimization and it’s super important when it comes to your website being visible in search results.
This is your best friend when it comes to marketing your business online!
See if your Designer is offering any SEO set up or if this will be an additional cost of hiring an SEO expert.
Alright friend, there you have it.
Of course add your own questions to this list but these are great things to be aware of before hiring your designer!
