What to prepare before you hire a web designer
You don't need a perfect brief. You need answers to six questions, a folder of content and a few honest opinions. Here's what makes a website project faster, cheaper and a lot less painful.
Most website projects don't run late because of design or code. They run late because the texts aren't ready, the photos are on someone's old laptop and nobody agreed on what the site is for. The good news: all of that can be sorted before you talk to a designer, and it makes every quote more accurate.
Six questions to answer first
- Who is the website for? Not "everyone". Describe the two or three kinds of people you most want to reach.
- What should they do after visiting? Call, book, buy, write an email, come by. Pick the most important one.
- What do they need to know to do that? Prices, process, proof that you're good, opening hours.
- What should it feel like? Three adjectives are enough. "Calm, warm, confident" gives a designer more to work with than a 20-page brand book nobody reads.
- What's the deadline, and why? A real date (a launch, a season, a trade fair) helps. "As soon as possible" doesn't.
- What's the budget range? You don't have to name an exact number, but a range saves both sides from designing the wrong project.
Three honest adjectives beat a brand book nobody reads.
Collect what you already have
Make one folder and put everything in it: logo files (ideally as SVG or the original design file), any brand colours and fonts, photos of your work, your team, your space, existing texts, testimonials, and login details for your current domain and hosting. You'll be surprised how much time disappears into "I'll send that later".
If photos are weak or missing, say so early. Good photography does more for a website than almost any design decision, and it needs planning.
Bring examples, including ones you hate
Send three to five websites you like and say why. "I like the big photos" or "it feels calm" is plenty. Then send one or two you really don't like. The dislikes are often more useful, because they tell me which direction to stay away from.
The examples don't have to be from your industry. A hotel, a bookshop or a museum can be just as useful a reference.
Decide who decides
If three people need to approve the design, all three should be in the first meeting. Feedback that arrives late from someone who wasn't there is the most expensive kind. Name one person who collects opinions and gives the final yes.
What you don't need
A finished sitemap, technical requirements, a decision about which system to use, or perfect texts. Those are things a good designer helps you work out. You bring the knowledge about your business. I bring the knowledge about websites.
If you can answer the six questions in one email, the project is already halfway to a good start.