What Do You Need To Know Before Hiring A Web Developer?

When we meet with a business that is looking for a new website, we start asking questions such as functionality and design ideas.

Here are a few things you need to do before meeting with a web developer that will help the proposal process and avoid overage charges. Being prepared up front can save a lot of time and give you exactly what you are looking for.

Know Your Website Goals and Priorities

Create a starting point. Figure out why you want a website in the first place. Will your site sell products and/or services, or will it exist to simply provide information?

Branding

If you don’t have any brand colors or a logo, create a vision board. It should include things like colors you want to be incorporated into your brand, preferred font choices, slogans or phrases, and graphics you intend to use when marketing your business.

Will you need help with designing a logo? Do you have your logo in at least a PNG format? It is the one with the see-through background.

Make a Design Wish List

Are you building the website from scratch or do you have a site already that needs updating?

Both are entirely two different conversations: one focused on creating and executing a vision while the other focuses on improving an existing one. If you don’t have a site already, make a list that includes the number of pages, headers, buttons, menus, or any other visual element you plan on including on your website.

Budget

Building a website is much like building a house: it always costs more than you anticipate. Don’t let this scare you; just be prepared!

We try to offer at least 2 to 3 options but you will definitely need to have a budget in mind.

Give Each Page a Purpose

How many pages do you want your website to have? What is the goal of each page? How much copy will be on each page?

A great approach is to find websites in your industry you admire and try to emulate (not copy) their structure to create something similar.

You might be surprised to hear this, but you should have the words for each page ready to go before your designer begins work on your website. These aren’t just ideas; you need the final polished copy for your site. If you have no clue what to say or feel uncomfortable or unable to write it yourself, we have a staff writer who can help.

The Kick Off Meeting

When we meet with you to get started, you will need to share these with us. We use Dropbox and can share a folder with you or you can share your folder with us.

Upload the pages and we will create a sitemap from your list. We will need the website page copy or our writer will work with you on the copy.

Images, graphics, logos, photos. All of your assets for the site will need to go into the shared Dropbox folder.

If your business needs help with a new website or a redesign, contact Edge Digital for a quote.  Call 888-404-5850.

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