Do you remember those great commercials "The More You Know?" Well, whether it's about drugs or graphic design, that phrase is still true.
What can help a designer out on your project? Information! And not just any information, True Information! Core message here, "What are YOU trying to do?" Not what is your friend, neighbor, or competitor doing, but what are YOU wanting to do with your business, brochure, or website?
Knowing some simple things can help us all out with your project, and a prepared client is a VALUABLE client. Trust me, designers will go the extra mile for a client who is well-educated and clear about what they want. They make our job easier! We have a better opportunity to create more meaningful designs and smarter promotional tools!
So, here is some very helpful information that I came up with this week to help people decide how they should approach web sites, design, and developers. There are so many different ways to get a site online, so which approach is best for you?
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Three approaches to building a website
1. There is a "traditional" way to build a website: have a designer design the look, a developer builds it to work, uploads, hosts, and maintains the site. Costs are: designer, developer, hosting, domain name.
This option is the best for sites that have complex needs: the client needs to be able to upload information (either text or photo), manage a database, (stories, products, customers, shopping history, mailing lists) and then the viewer (general audience) needs to see all this information seamlessly (perfect examples include newspaper websites like SB Independent, shopping websites, or hospital/clinic websites with different aspects for patients, doctors, and the general viewer) Developing costs are most expensive here, because of how the site needs to be customized and basically hand-built for each need.
2. An intermediate way can include a more combined approach, where a designer can also "develop" the site using a publishing program - Costs are : Designer, hosting, domain name
This option can be lower maintenance, yet can have less options as most designers who aren't actually developers aren't able to build more complex database systems (managing lots of products, or an online shop, or
There are benefits of this choice, because the look can still be very custom, but the functionality is pretty basic. More emphasis on reading or viewing the information, less opportunity to have the information do anything special (like choosing different clothing to make an outfit, choosing custom options to build a product or furniture). Generally no flash involved with this avenue of site. Designer can use a variety of publishing software including iWeb or click&build software available through most hosting companies.
3. A Basic way to get a site is through WordPress or similar ... costs are Hosting, Domain name
Most people who choose this option are going to get a very straightforward site, looking most like a blog with information blocks stacking on top of each other (most recent on top, scrolling down to see older content) They have the ability to archive data, to find old issues or content. Template adjustability is minimal, usually limited to background color/image, header image, type color, possibly type style ...
Designers I know who have worked with these types of sites haven't really enjoyed modifying them - process is a bit cumbersome and constrained ...
Key questions a client should know the answer to before beginning their website
__ How should the site function?
This is important, because it speaks to the developing cost & involvement ... A site will fall on a sliding scale between passive & interactive. Passive is just reading, viewing information, with clicking only to find another story or picture. Interactive would be clicking to have the information DO something - pop-up windows, change colors, view galleries, videos, turn an item, etc.
__ What should the site do?
This seems similar to question number 1, but is slightly different because it speaks to the goal for the interaction with the consumer ... Is the site selling stuff? Is the site informing? Which is the most important thing. Develop an idea of hierarchy... 1. Inform. 2. Motivate (sign up for email, facebook, etc.) 3. Sell (or whatever the list of priorities should be... )
___ How should the site look?
Knowing the audience is very important here, as well as knowing how you'd like to speak to the audience. For example, If I'm selling coffee, I'm assuming the audience likes coffee & the experience of brown, rich colors, rusty & shiny metals, hand-cared for things. But, if my goal is to appeal to the Mac style of consumer, or the modern minimalist more black-rimmed glasses crowd, I might want to have a more stark background - treating the website like a high-end art gallery. Coffee can still pop, but mostly to people who are drawn to that kind of framework.
For budgeting, a clear idea of knowing your audience and knowing how you want to speak to them can help with the design costs.
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So, the more you know about who your business is for and what your business does, the better your business' promotional tools can function!
Help a nerd out, Make your lists! Trust me, we'll thank you for it :)
Labels: creative, design