Working with a web designer can be a fun and exciting experience. You tell them what you’re looking for, they execute perfectly, and you’re left with your dream website.
At least, that’s how it should work.
Luckily, that’s exactly what happened when I worked with Sarah Morgan on my site’s design! She had my style nailed down so well that we didn’t need a single revision. She was amazing.
But I have to say, I was less amazing. I learned a lot about how I should work with designers in the future and what I should expect from my development clients.
Here are my top 4 lessons learned from working with a designer.
Have Your Content 100% Prepared
Having your content completely ready seems like a no-brainer, but I was completely unprepared when my time with Sarah started. I knew she’d need some time for mockup and design, so I slacked off on the content I’d need to deliver to her.
This led to me scrambling to get things to her as quickly as possible and it probably led to her waiting a little bit too.
Make sure you have all of the following ready before working with a designer:
- Page contents and copy
- Photos for each page
- What links do you want in your menu? What should go on each of those pages?
- Opt-in links
- Social media links
Be Responsive To Email
I was very responsive when emails came in from Sarah, but it would have been frustrating for her if I wouldn’t have been.
When you’re working with a designer (or developer!) the sooner you can answer their questions, the sooner they can get your project ready, which is a win for both of you!
If you’re one that doesn’t like getting email notifications on your phone, I’d recommend turning them on while you’re working with a designer. You could even open up a separate email account and give just that person your email address or have your regular address forward all mailings from your designer to the new one.
Create A Killer Moodboard
Odds are that your designer doesn’t know you as a person. They might know what your site’s goals are, they might know a little about your target audience, maybe they even know your favorite colors. But that doesn’t give them much to go off of for your overall look and feel.
Creating a detailed moodboard with great colors, fonts, shapes, patterns, and a cohesive overall look and feel will make their job much easier. The better moodboard you create, the happier you’ll be with that original design concept!
Here’s the moodboard I made when working with Sarah.
Find Someone With A Similar Vibe
If you have a specific style in mind take the time to find a designer with a similar vibe.
Someone with a light and flowery style probably won’t be able to execute quite as well if your style is bright and loud, like mine.
I was in love with Sarah’s style from the very first time I landed on her blog, so knew she’d be perfect. Let me tell you, it wasn’t a mistake. Zero revisions made the process nice and easy for both of us. I wish I would have had my husband record my reaction when I opened the first mockup I got. “Spaz attack” would be an appropriate description. There was no containing that excitement!
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