How to create a website for your small business | Startups.co.uk

How to work with a web designer

When thinking about web design, you need to always remember that, whether you’re creating from scratch or redesigning an existing site, this is a collaborative process.

You don’t just hire a company, tell them what to do, and then get a website a month later.

No, it’s more like working with an architect to design your dream house (with the key difference being your web design both designs and builds your site).

Choosing a web designer

This is a big decision, so make sure you take it seriously. You need to find a designer that has experience in your industry, has a track record building websites like the one you have in mind, and is easy to work with. Look at who designed competitor websites and try to contact previous clients if you can, to get a real idea of what they’re like to work with.

For loads more great tips, take a look at our guide to finding a web designer.

Or, if you need help finding high-quality web designers, our web design comparison tool will match you with top talent at great prices.

When you start

At the outset, your web designer needs to know:

• What kind of site you want and what you need it to do
• What you like about competitor sites
• If you have any branding ideas or an existing colour scheme that needs to be reflected
• What is the deadline
• What is the budget

Before you sign anything, you need to make sure that there’s a shared vision for your website, and agreement on how long it will take and how much it will cost.

The contract

Like any contract, read your web design contract carefully.

It needs to set out exactly what you are (and aren’t) paying for. Quite simply, anything that you need doing that isn’t in the contract is going to cost you extra, so make sure you’re clear about what each stage of the process involves.

One crucial point is that you normally need to supply the website text yourself, everything from About Us to product descriptions. If you can’t or don’t want to produce this in-house, then consider hiring a freelancer to produce sparkling copy that’s perfect for SEO.

The design process

As your website is designed and built, it’s going to come back to you at various stages for feedback.

If it really doesn’t match what you had in mind, then make sure you say so, trying to endlessly tweak it is just going to cause lots of friction as time goes on.

But, and this is just as important, try not to nit-pick, moving elements around by a few inches is unlikely to make much difference to anyone and will simply annoy your designer.

Testing, testing, testing

Once your website is designed and built, then it’s time for testing. Every link, every form, every site pathway, everything a user could do on your website needs to be checked. Oh, and go through the text with a fine toothed comb to spot spelling and grammar errors too.

Working with a web designer can produce a truly spectacular website for your business. However, you need to be prepared to play an active role in what is a lengthy and expensive process.

Ready to get started? Our quick web design comparison tool will match you with top web designers in minutes