A Website Designer Does What?

We just went through a site design.  It was a long, but relatively painless process.  I think that was because we approached it with the right mindset.

Many small business owners have problems with their designers and end up ultimately unhappy with the design.  In general, business owners would be much happier with the design process if they had a better understanding of the responsibilities of each party involved.

Here are some of the elements of a site and who is usually responsible for each.  You can often negotiate these responsibilities.  But be sure that someone is capable of doing a good job on work they agree to do.

1. The Copy – The “copy” or text on a site is probably the cause of the most confusion and frustration on the part of business owners who are designing their site.  The copy is not the responsibility of the designer.  You have two choices for your copy:  write it yourself or hire a copywriter.  For the vast majority of businesses I strongly recommend writing your own copy.  That’s because hiring a copywriter is expensive and a hassle.
2. The Design – Obviously, this is the responsibility of the designer.  Sometimes, though, the line between design and programming can be blurry.
3. Custom Functionality – Most designers are not programmers.  Many can make simple modifications to code.  So unless your designer is also a programmer, you should be prepared to hire someone to write the code for any functionality you are requesting that is out of the ordinary.  Note that in platforms like WordPress, there are tens of thousands of free plugins that add functionality.  Most designers can install a plugin, but can’t write one.
4. SEO and Other Optimization – Although most designers and copywriters probably know
   

   Be sure to clearly outline your designer's responsibliites up front

   something about SEO, they are rarely experts.  Nor are they conversion experts.  Conversion simply refers to getting site visitors to do what you want them to do:  call you, email you, etc.

5. Overall Business and Marketing Strategy – Ultimately, this is your business.  You know it better than anyone.  You must take responsibility for your online strategy, although you should definitely get some expert advice.  Although a designer might have some good input, don’t count on them to develop an online strategy for you.

Clearly outlining responsibilities up front can save you a lot of grief during your project.  It will also help you get the most out of your designer by allowing him or her to concentrate on what they do best.

Hold your designer to a high standard on your design and give attention to the details.  Give feedback regularly thoughout the process.

One tool I have found to be very helpful for giving feedback is Jing.  Jing allows you to quickly and easily create and share screenshot video and audio.  It’s great for giving feedback on a design because you can actually show the designer rather than try to explain it in words.

Happy designing!