8 Tips for Successfully Working with a Web Designer
Do your research to find a quality designer.
Before you hire a web designer, be sure to do some research. A little time spent doing so up front will save you a lot of time down the road because you will have a better chance of success on your first hire. You can ask colleagues, friends, or other business owners who they have hired and if they had a good experience.
Invest some time into building a contract.
Once you’ve hired, spend some time creating a contract. In this day and age, a contract is an absolute necessity. It will protect you as a business owner AND it will protect your web designer. A contract is mutually beneficial. Be sure to go over it with your designer to ensure that they understand what it says and to make changes if necessary.
Give some visual examples for what you like and what you don’t like.
Visual examples are great. It’s like going into a hair salon and trying to communicate a color to your stylist. We all have different ideas of what “light red” is, right? Having specific examples will help to resolve any confusion before it becomes a problem.
Do not rush them.
Rushing your web designer will not only piss them off, but it will also take away from the quality of their work. Sometimes designers need extra time to solve creative and technical issues that arise. While it is great to have a timeline, and deadlines, realize that life happens. Sometimes a little extra time is necessary.
Be involved throughout the process, but not overly so.
Check up with your designer to make sure that problems are solved sooner than later.
Create a level of mutual respect with your communication
Communicate your target audience.
Explain your target audience so your designer can design for that type of client specifically
Be open to their suggestions for how to improve upon your ideas.
At the end of the day, who you hire is the specialist. They will have suggestions for how to improve upon your ideas. Listen to what they have to say!
Fire if necessary
Lastly, you need to be comfortable with letting someone go if they are not getting the job done in a timely or professional manner.