Your Website: Getting Started - Part 3, Participation
Written by Jennifer Anderson
In part two of our Getting Started series we talked about finding the right designer or developer for your website. Once you find a designer who seems right for your project, your job is not over! You will now need to participate in the project.
Your designer should have some questions before the work can begin, and will need to discuss your requirements in more detail. Your designer should not only be aware of your current website goals, but also your future goals. This is especially important where programming is involved. Many web developers can program in such a way that the code can be easily added to as your site grows; however, they can’t do that if they don’t know the "who, what, when, where and why” of it all. Computer software can’t make assumptions any more than your programmer can. So bring your five-year business plan to the table. You might spend a tad more in development now…but I have seen people who refused to plan for the future spend literally thousands of dollars more later because they refused to think ahead in the beginning.
Timely communication is also a must. If your designer has a question, the project usually cannot move forward until that question has been answered. If you wait days to reply, you have just set your project back by that many days. Most of us understand that our clients are very busy. Life never allows you the time to do all of the things one must do. But at the same time, you must remember that your designer is also very busy. If time has been set aside for your project and then the information needed to complete that project has not been received, then the designer has no work for that day. He or she loses money, and the project falls behind schedule. Sure, we’re aware that this happens sometime and usually we can plug some other pending work into that slot. But if you let this happen too often then your designer might lose the sense of urgency needed to get the project done on time. They could also lose interest and begin devoting more attention to other clients who are participating in their project. So do the best you can to stay in touch, and your project should stay on track.
Participation in your own project is simply a must. You will feel more in control of your own website, you will learn a lot about how these things work, and you will ultimately be happier with the end result.
We hope our web design series, Getting Started, has been of assistance to you. Please feel free to post comments, additions, and even opposing opinions to any of our articles. We will never think ourselves so knowledgeable that we cannot stand to learn a thing or two from our clients or our competitors alike from time to time.
Take care, and to your success!
Click here to start over and read the first part: Your Website: Getting Started - Part 1, Proper Preparation.
