Money Saver: Take Inventory of Your Design Requirements
June 3rd, 2007
Moleskine Photograph by D’Arcy Norman
Of all the communication problems in the designer/client relationship, one of the largest difficulties is knowing what you want and knowing how to tell that to someone else. Most people don’t know how to articulate their wants and needs. Take a look at all the books on relationships, on communication, heck—just take a look at the length of the self help aisle. People, in general, aren’t that good at telling others what they really want.
To avoid some of the frustration and miscommunication that can sometimes happen in the design process, I ask potential clients a series of questions that tell me a little bit more about their business, what they want to see, and how they work. By taking inventory of their wants and needs, my clients save money because they know exactly what they want.
- Have you ever had a website in the past? Any type of website, including weblogs and personal homepages count.
- Do you have a domain name (ie. website address: www.yourdomain.com) purchased? If not, when do you plan to purchase one?
- Do you have a hosting service already? _A hosting service is where your website “lives.”
- Have you budgeted for a website?
- If you would like a site redesign, what aspects of your existing website do you like? What would you like to change?
- If you are interested in a weblog design, what weblog platform do you use, or expect to use? Some examples are WordPress, MovableType, and Blogger.
- Do you have the technical expertise to update this site by yourself or will you need help from someone else?
- Do you have the copy (the writing) for this website already, or will the writing be an ongoing process (regular updates on products or work, regular news items)?
- Do you have images, logos or photos that you would like to feature on your website?
- Do you already have ideas regarding how you would like your website to look? Do you have a general color scheme in mind?
- What are your goals for this website — if this is a business website, how will this enrich your business?
- What do you want visitors to think about your site?
- If you could sum your work or business up in one word, what would it be?
These seem like a lot of homework, but they can tell your designer a lot about what they’re going to be doing with your site and with you as a client. They also give your designer a starting point. If you’ve never had a website before, some of these answers can tell your designer where you’re going to need their help.
Remember, your designer can also be a source for information (what would be a good webhosting company? Where should I buy my domain name?). Even if your designer doesn’t ask these questions, having the answers to them can help you tell them exactly what you want, saving both of you time and money.