Marketing Strategies for the Small Business Owner

If you are the owner of a small business and are hiring a web designer for the first time, it is important that you understand how the design process works. As a client, you must find a way to communicate your goals for your website as well as your general design preferences, and your designer must understand how to interpret your desires to build your website. Before beginning, most designers will ask you to provide them with a few example websites that you like or do not like so they can get a feel for your preferences. When supplying your designer with these examples, there are a few things that you can do to make them more helpful, which will speed up the design process and make it easier for a designer to give you options that you like. 

Limit Your Examples 

You may think that if you provide your designer with more examples, they will get a better idea of what you like. However, sending too many examples can waste your designer's time, which you will end up paying for if you are paying an hourly rate for your design. Instead of sending your designer a link to every website you like the design of, take the time to examine many websites and narrow your examples down to the top five websites you like and the top five that you do not like. This forces you to be more critical about the websites you send and will help you be more specific about what you do and do not like. 

Be Specific About What You Like Or Don't Like 

The more specific you can be about your preferences, the better your designer will understand you. Instead of just sending example websites, give your designer a paragraph or bullet list about the specific aspects of a website that you like or do not like. Some design aspects you can include on this list are: 

• Color scheme. 
• Font and font size.  
• Number and size of photos. 
• Organization. 
• Special features or capabilities. 

Don't Ask Your Designer to Copy a Design 

While you probably do not want to plagiarize on purpose, many business owners do not realize that copying a design is a form of plagiarism. There may be a website that you love, but your designer cannot simply copy the design for your company. Not only is it unethical, but it would fail to make your company stand out as the unique business that it is. Instead, select the features that you like best from your favorite website and think about unique ways your designer can integrate them into your site.

To learn more, contact a company like Scotti Design. 

Include Sites In and Out Of Your Market 

Your designer will appreciate examples of competitor sites that you like. However, you should also feel free to send general examples of websites outside of your niche. For example, if you are in the plumbing industry, send your designer your favorite sport or news site, because many plumbing sites lack modern web design features that could make your site stand out. This opens the creative possibilities for your designer and allows them to give you a website that is not only as good as your competitors', but better. 

Examples are one of the most helpful ways to communicate your desires with a designer. Following these tips will make your examples more effective and useful.