What I Need Before I Can Design Your Website

So you’re looking to have a website designed for your small business. But what does your designer need in order to design your website? So glad you asked!

Below are the five key things I need before I can design your website.

 

Website Design Inspiration

The number of directions we could take your website design is endless. If I’m going to design your website, I need to know what you’re envisioning! You can find inspiration from Dribbble, Pinterest, Behance, or of course, Google. Links to sites you like works great, otherwise, images or screenshots are perfect also.

If this is just too overwhelming, no worries! We can instead discuss the ‘mood’ or ‘vibe’ you’re going for with your site. Then and I can find examples that I feel fit that mood and you can say yay or nay.

Choosing a Website Platform

We need to nail down which platform you want to use! If you’re comfortable with your current platform, great! However, since we’ll be starting from scratch with a new site, now would be a good time to switch platforms if this is something you’re interested in.

So which platform would I recommend? It’s no secret I am a fan of Squarespace! This platform is a wonderful solution for small to medium-sized businesses. It’s responsive, the design is modern and clean, and it’s highly customizable. One of the best features is that when your site is done, the interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate you will be able to make changes yourself.

However, there are lots of other website platforms to choose from and each one caters to a different type of business. In addition to Squarespace, our team works with WordPress, ShowIt, and Shopify. I’m happy to advise on which platform would be best for you and your business.

All Your Current Branding Information

If you already have stellar branding, the items I would need for your website are:

• Brand Fonts
• Logo(s)
• Patterns or textures that are part of your brand
• Color Palettes
• A brand guide (if you have it)

If your branding is all over the place, don’t worry, I can help with that too! It’s common for solo entrepreneurs to make choices when their business first started that no longer reflect the brand they want to grow.

If you need help with branding, we will complete this step first before we move on to your website design.

Photos for Your Website

The finishing touch for your website is professional photos. Depending on your business, website photos you may need are:

• Headshots or lifestyle images of you and your team
• Photos of your products or services
• Photos of your space/office
• Flatlays or composite photos

Ideally, having a curated set of your own brand photos is the best. If you don’t have brand photos, I have partnerships with local photographers who can help you out!

If working with a professional photographer isn’t an option for you right now, I can help with sourcing stock images that align with your brand.

Website Copy

I haven’t yet mentioned a crucial element of your website – the words on it! The copy on your website is a critical part of bringing clients to you, and this is one of the areas that can be daunting for most people. Because of this, many of my clients choose to have my team write the website copy for their site.

If you are writing the copy yourself, this would fall on your to-do list. We will first start by designing a rough layout of the site using placeholder text. Once the arrangement is finalized, your homework would be to fill in all the placeholder sections with engaging copy that resonates with your brand and business.

 

We take care of the rest!

The beauty of working with a professional website designer is it allows you to spend your time sharing your unique gifts with the world.

If you’re interested in working together, get in touch, and we will pick a time to meet soon.