Want a successful, effective, professional website? Here are three questions your web designer should ask you.
If you are about to embark on creating a new website, there are obviously questions you’ll have for your web designer. However, just as important are the questions they have for you.
Before a web designer can design the look and feel of your website they first need to understand your business. What are your business goals? Who's your audience? What's your brand's personality?
There are many questions to ask before designing a new website. Below are a few of the most important questions your web designer should ask you.
1. What are the business goals you want to achieve with your website?
Web design isn't just about being visually appealing. It's about leading people down a desired path. All businesses have strategic objectives they want to achieve. These goals need to be addressed in the web design.
For example, if your goal is lead capture, you may want to include a graphic of a free ebook and an email signup that appear “above the fold” on the home page. (This is a “lead magnet” and is very effective in lead generation.)
Typically with web design you need to identify the primary objective that will drive the design of the website. You also need to take into consideration one or two of your secondary objectives and work them through the site as well.
In doing so your web design will make your website a powerful sales and marketing tool.
2. Who is your target audience and what are their goals when visiting your website?
A lot of businesses understand their own needs but fail to spend enough time understanding the needs of their customers or audience.
For example, you may want to sell more skin cream, but your visitor just wants to learn how she can keep her skin looking young. Focus first on your visitor’s needs by using their language, and making their goals easy to accomplish right from the home page.
Remember that everyone arrives at your website listening to the same radio station: WII-FM. What’s in it for me?
Identifying primary and secondary visitor wants and needs and incorporating them into the web design can directly impact the success of your website.
3. How do you want to define your brand and how it should be visually represented?
Your web designer needs to understand your business, your competitors and the industry you operate in. This information will help him or her create a unique web design that best represents your company and its brand.
For example, you want a design that differentiates you from your competition but that is still appropriate for your industry.
Good web design is not just about pretty pictures. It’s about using imagery and layout that reflects the company and how it wants to be seen in the marketplace.
Takeaways
Your website represents a big investment on your part, and it represents your company on the web. It’s often the first impression people get of your business or it’s the way that they establish your credibility and expertise.
To get the best results, your web designer needs to understand your business goals, your audience, and your brand.