Realmind Technology Web Development

It is important to ask your web designer questions but it is equally important that they are asking you the right questions.

Frankly, it takes technical skills that are easy to teach to build a web page or even a web site. What separates the best design shops from the rest is how well they can understand your business.

This understanding could spell the difference between a website that brings in new customers and one that does not.

Here are some of the questions that Realmind Technology asks to get an understand of our potential clients:

1. “Can you describe your business in a few sentences?”

By distilling your business into a sentence or two, you are essentially giving your designer your “elevator pitch.” This is great information and can be  used to quickly describe your business on your homepage for instance. After all,  when it comes to writing for the web, brevity is your new best friend, as most  of your users will never read as in-depth as you would like them to. You have to capture their attention right away.

2. “Who are your main competitors?”

By knowing who you are competing against, our team can conduct the  research needed to see how others in your field handle their websites. We can then determine what seems to be working well for some of them, and not as well for others. The intent here is not to copy what others are doing, but  rather to learn from the benefit of their experience, as well as from their  mistakes.

3. “What sets your business apart from your competitors?”

This is your chance to really distinguish your business from the others. If  you have something unique to offer, then your designer should know about it, so  that it can be played up and specifically called out on your site. It does not have to be anything earth-shattering.  In fact, it can be something  incredibly simple, such as offering a complimentary consultation, for  instance.

4. “Can you describe your target customer?”

Knowing exactly who your main audience is affects almost every aspect of the design.  After all, a site that would appeal to teenage boys would not be very visually interesting to women over 60. Other than the visual concerns,  these breakdowns would also make a big difference on search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, as well as social media integration. It is very important to be as specific as possible: gender, age, and annual income are major things to be considered in order to design the most appropriate site for your audience.

5. “What is your deadline for completing the site?”

You have a deadline in mind, right? Well you should! Having a deadline not only keeps your designer on track, but it will keep you focused as well. All too often, website projects start with a bang and fizzle out over a span of months because a timeline was never established. It’s a good sign if your designer asks because in most cases that means he or she respects your time and is interested  in getting the website finished when you need it.

6. “What are some other sites on the Web that you like and why?”

This is where your designer can get a sense of your own personal tastes.  Since personal preferences are so subjective, it really helps me as a designer  to know what visual style you respond well to. Again, this question is not  designed in order to copy anything that someone else has already done, but it  serves as a great jumping-off point. If a designer doesn’t ask this, then you  run the risk of them designing a (possibly) amazing site that just isn’t your  cup of tea.

7. “What specific functionalities would you like included on your site?”

This is something that you may not have thought very much about. You may not even be fully aware of all the options that are out there. Many of our web design clients know they want a Web presence, but they are not always sure about what  they want to get out of it. And that’s ok. It is up to your web designer to get to the heart of your business, and suggest new ways to leverage all the  technologies that are available and appropriate to your site. For instance, if  you run a restaurant, you probably know that you want to have your menu, contact info and directions on your site. But what about adding an option for customers to book their reservation via your website?

8. “Who is going to be responsible for the website’s content?”

This is a question that often catches clients off guard. It is a bit easier to answer in the case of a redesign, but what if you are a new business starting a website from scratch? Do you plan on writing the content for your own site?  Also, think about graphis, banners, and images that you would like to include on your website.  There are many stock photos websited available that offer a great amount of images for a small fee.

9. “What key search phrases would you like to be found for?”

Search engine optimization (SEO) is your key to being found on the Web. Your designer should be asking you this because your answers could have a big impact on not only the copy, but the overall site structure as well. Let’s say you run a photography business in Boulder, Colorado. You might want to be found for the terms “wedding photography boulder colorado,” as well as “yearbook photography boulder colorado.” It would be a good idea to design two different landing pages for those different keyword phrases, rather than relying on being found through a more generic homepage.

10. “How much time do you want to put into new content creation per week?”

Another key element to SEO strategy is keeping your content fresh. This means adding brand new content to existing pages, and/or adding new pages altogether on a fairly consistent basis. This can be done any number of ways, including a blog, user generated content if appropriate, or even a podcast. If its only a few hours per week, a blog would be sufficient in most cases. If it is a company that employs someone who can work on content creation full-time, I would start thinking of new areas that would attract users. A video page perhaps? Or maybe a twitter contest? The ideas are endless, but it all comes down to how much time  you are willing to spend on such efforts.

Final Thoughts

There is much more to your new website than just the visual elements.  There are other questions we ask while going through the discovery phase and this list is not meant to be exhaustive. You should use this list as your interview potential designers. If they are not asking you any questions similar to the ones in this list you may want to look at a different designer.

If you have any questions regarding this post or need help with designing or redesining your website, please contact us and we will happily help you!

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com