Is your company or organization around to begin the job of getting your Web site made by a professional Web design team? Well, whether you are in Cochrane or Calgary, Alberta, or anywhere else in the world , you can help your Web design team , and your company , by doing some prep work before you contact Web designers for quotes . Preparing for your Web project will make things more economical and efficient , since you will be clear on what you want and where you feel comfortable in letting the project go in the hands of the Web design team.
Here are some tips to consider before you start interviewing potential Calgary Web Design teams .
- Define your niche . If you are starting a business or in business already , it is critical for you to know your business niche . Define your location, unique services, what you specialize in, and what areas you see having the most future potential. Are you tied to one location, like Calgary, Alberta? If it does, can you see a place for your company in the global market? Defining the scope of your targeted audience goes a long way in knowing what keywords and search terms to use on the site and in paid advertising online.
- Review your current marketing plan and branding collateral for example, do you have a professional logo design? A slogan? Do your print materials refer to a Web presence? Make sure to consider the costs of redoing your print material to align them with your new Web presence. Make all of your material as consistently branded as possible.
- Find your competitors online and see where they appear in global and local search results . Good Web design will appeal to local and global audiences and will be accessible to as many visitors as possible , although your focus is more local than global .
- Make a short list of 3 to 6 web sites that you like for a variety of reasons . These websites may be in your niche, but they might be from an entirely different niche . Take note as to what it is you like about that site, is it design, layout, content or some function, such as a blog or gallery? .
- Decide if you prefer a light site (basically dark text on a light background) or a dark site (light text on a dark background). Review your business branding and decide what you think will fit your unique situation best. If you are unsure, tell your Web designer you’d like to see a light and dark version.
- Think about what you want the Web site to do : will it be a simple static website ? Or will it be interactive ? Or do you need it to be an e-commerce solution right out of the gate ?
- How much time and energy can you commit to the website development? Will you be able to provide professional, edited copy for the website? Getting a new web site designed is great, but if your content is poorly written then the web design won’t matter! Consider investing in getting the content properly written by a professional Web copy writer. Hopefully your design team also offers writing and editing services, but if they don’t or you need a different writing style, find a professional who can produce what you need.
- Create a hierarchy of sections, pages and subpages. An easy way to do this is to look at websites in your niche who have a very similar navigation structure. This will help your Web designer define a realistic timeline for development.
- Get your logo and any branding elements you use for print onto a disc or ready for emailing.
- Gather any photos that you’d like to submit to be included in the actual web design itself and also in the content. Make sure you note on which page you’d like each photo to be included.
- Clarify your budget. Your website should hold for at least three years with little change needed to maintain its structure. Make sure you also budget for hosting, SSL certificate installation and renewals and ongoing marketing once the site is live.
Taking an hour or two to plan your project and thinking about how you’d like your Web site to be, before you seek a quote from a designer, will save you time and money and you will feel more confident about the end result.
Trust your Calgary Web Design needs to BlindDrop Design Inc. We offer all media services related to the Web and Graphic Design.