You decide you’re ready for a new website design – great! You book a free consultation with a web design firm and show up to your meeting – even better! Your new designer starts asking questions and, 10 minutes in, you’re stumped – not so great.

Save yourself, your company, and your new web designer some time by knowing the answers. Here are the 5 questions our perspective clients get hung up on the most.

1. What do you want your website to do?

Websites need a purpose – it’s impossible to develop a website without knowing its purpose. Establishing goals, defining its purpose and identifying what results you are anticipating will help your web designer build an effective website.

2. Who is your target market or customer?

A website should be built with the target market or customer in mind. Think
of your ideal client. The more you know about them, the more you can cater
to their needs and gain them as a client.

3. What are your goals for your website?

Develop goals for your website. Where would you like to be, pertaining to
your online presence, in 6 months or a year? It’s important to set reasonable goals to avoid feeling discouraged or let-down.

4. Are there any websites you like? What do you like about them?

If there are any websites that you find yourself drawn to share them
with your designer. They do not have to be websites that are in a similar
industry or that provide a similar product. Sharing examples of sites you like can be a great way for a designer to get a sense of your likes and dislikes in regards to a website layout.

5. Who is your competition?

Provide your designer with 2-3 examples of companies you are in direct competition with as well as companies that may provide a similar service in another market area.

Knowing what you want your website to do, who your target market is, what your goals are, what websites you like or dislike, and who your competition is should get your website design process started on the right foot.