OK, so I’m back on to websites. Simply because I am still in the throws of getting mine designed and it’s been a long and hard road so far! I mentioned in a previous post that I’m being ultra fussy and particular with this because it’s my website that I’m designing. Trust me I have a lot more clarity when it’s a client’s website I’m dealing with! I will note here that because the main service that I offer is online marketing – my website really does have to kick but!
Anyway, the designer who is designing my website is a dear friend Amanda Leahy & you can check out her work here. I pity poor Mands for taking this job on and I’m sure she will speak to me again soon when her frustration with me has subsided!!
For the record, I actually did go into this quite prepared and I submitted Mands a full brief complete with a little table of websites that I liked and the reasons why. But you know what – I could have done better!
The good news is I am learning from this experience and I am now going to share some of my lessons learnt with you dear readers!!
Here are some things to consider when designing your website:
Lesson one: Search outside the square
It’s definitely a good idea to assemble a list of websites that you like and reasons why. My mistake was that I only looked for marketing websites and to be honest I found it hard to find really good ones within this industry. Since submitting my initial brief I have had several AWESOME websites recommended to me like this one, thisone and this one. I love them and would love my website to take inspiration from such great concepts. I should have widened my search field originally. Next time I’m going to email a bunch of friends, family, colleagues and clients and ask them to email me a list of 3 websites that they love and why.
Lesson two: Regularly check back in with your brief
So I got my first design draft back and my head went into a spin as I tried to digest the aesthetics, the wording, the layout etc. There was a lot to take in and consider. As it turned out there were a few things that the home page design had not catered for which were really important to me. Regularly checking back to your original brief will ensure that you don’t realise these missing elements too late!
Lesson three: Get others to review
A fresh set of eyes are invaluable! This is something I have done - yay for me. I have sent draft pages of the design to a handful of friends and family to get their feedback. Most of these people have a background in communications or business so their input has been valuable and relevant and has either confirmed some of my thoughts or raised issues that I hadn’t considered.
Lesson 4: Try and stick to a timeline
Getting a website designed from scratch can take months & months. Try and set yourself, your designer and your developer realistic but snappy timelines.
Hope those lessons can be of use – I’m sure there will be more to come!!
