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How to Have the Smoothest Website Design Experience Whether Redesigning or Starting From Scratch

 

Whether you are redesigning your website or starting a brand new site, you want the process to go smoothly. I am going to cover what you need to know in order to have the smoothest website design experience for when you are finally ready to get your website project going.

 

To run an efficient website design project, a web designer will need a thorough project scope. This critical task is often performed by a website project manager. A project’s scope is where you and your website designer will determine the size of your project and what your project entails to be able to roadmap tasks, project goals, costs, and deadlines. A good project scope means everyone (client and web designers) are on the same page as to what work will be done.

 

 

Scope

In the work of scope process, a website designer will want to know the scale of your website including how much content you will have. This means any text that will go on your website as well as any media like images and videos. Having content ready is your web designers dream! However, it is not necessary and is usually not the case for people who are starting a brand new website from scratch.

 

It is okay if you don’t know exactly what you want your website to look like. That is what your web designer is there for. Are you starting a new website from scratch and not sure what content you need on there? That is okay as well! Talk to your website designer. Most likely they will give you tips like looking at other websites in the same industry as yours to get an idea of the type of content you should include.

 

Creating a sitemap can help determine the scale of your website. A sitemap is an outline of the website’s content. It is used to plan the website in the design phase and also helps search engines navigate the site. Here is an example of a sitemap:

  • Homepage
  • Services/Pricing
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

 

Content and User Experience

Finding sites that you really like or finding sites that are in the same industry category as your business, will really help give you an idea of what website content to create and how you want your website to be organized.

 

The example of a website sitemap that I gave above is pretty common. But let’s say that you need your website to have additional functionality. What if you run a hair salon and you want your clients to be able to book an online appointment? Features like this will be pertinent for your web designer to know.

 

A great way to figure out how you want your website to function is to think of your user. How will your customer or client use your website? What value will they get from it? What can they expect to find?
If this is starting to sound like User Experience Design to you, it’s because it is! UX Design takes the user into account in order to improve the quality of their interaction with your website.

 

Adding Functionality

Going back to my hair salon example – you might decide that you want your clients to be able to book a haircut and hair coloring services. So, you would want to include a booking feature. How will that feature function? Do you want the client to receive a confirmation email? How about just a confirmation message directly on the website? What about cancellations? You would want to think of your user and what will make their interaction with your business website as intuitive, smooth, and pleasant as possible.

 

 

So, how can you prepare as the client to make sure you are getting exactly what you need from your website designer? Research websites in the same industry category as your own. Create content, gather images or media that you want to include. Have an idea of how you want your website to be organized and create a sitemap. Think of your user when creating your website. And finally, communicate with your designer as much as possible to avoid website production problems.

 

 

 


G4 Design House is proud to offer its services nationwide, but especially locally in San Diego and surrounding areas and cities: Chula Vista, Encinitas, Escondido, San Marcos, Del Mar, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Temecula, Anaheim, and Los Angeles.