It’s sometimes difficult to know exactly what your role is as a client in the custom web design process. Depending on the scope of your project and the approach of your web designer, the opportunities for you to play a part in the process may differ. That being said, there are a few things that you can bring to the table before your project even begins that will help your designer to create something you’ll be happy with. Keep reading to learn how you can put your stamp on the custom web design creative process, without having to design or develop a single element yourself!
Content
Not all custom web designers will take care of content for you - and if they will, it’ll usually be for an additional charge. You can save yourself money and ensure that you get to input on your custom web designs by coming prepared with content. Whether you put together a full portfolio of images, graphic ideas, and copy for each individual website page or simply pull together a mood board of inspiration and initial thoughts - this will really help your custom web designer to thread your vision through the development and build stages of your project. The more content you bring to the table, the easier it’ll be for your designer to “plug and play” straight into your new website and bring the finished product together more quickly.
Copy
Specifically when it comes to copy, the more you can prepare in advance, the quicker and easier the custom web design process will become in relation to the design and build stages. It’s often debated which comes first, content or design - and the truth is that projects can be structured either way. That being said, if your copy already exists then your custom web designer can ensure that spaces across your website are curated to fit the text in a visually appealing way. It’s more straightforward to avoid a situation where your design is compromised by the length of your copy, or having to go back to your designer at a later date because your copy doesn’t sit correctly within the webpage.
Vision
As a very minimum, bringing a vision for your custom web design project (at the very least!) is hugely helpful for your designer. Whether this is shared through initial design meetings and conversations about what you want to achieve, or if you put together something more tangible like a mood board or a list of example sites you’ve seen that have elements of design you’d like to incorporate or replicate - all of this helps to speed the custom web design process along as your designer can create your designs in direct response to the vision that you have shared.
Ultimately, there are no hard and fast rules for the custom web design process or how involved you should or shouldn’t be as a client. These initial ideas will certainly help you to bring some input to the creative process, however you should definitely talk with your custom web designer about whether there’s anything else you can be doing to support the project.
Every design process and project is different - if you’ve got an idea for your business and want support making it a reality, get in touch with our friendly and experienced team at Kartogram. We love helping our clients realise their custom web design potential - you could be next! Let’s get talking and see what we can create together.