10 Things to Ask Your Designer Before The Project Begins

Introduction 

Are you in the market for a new website, branding project or social media marketing? You will need a good designer who will meet all of your needs and exceed your expectations. We always start with reading through their testimonials and checking their portfolio. You want someone who can match your style overall needs when it comes to design.

A good design is important these days for the success of a business online. A good designer can make your project a dream come true. Before letting your designer start your project you must ask the right questions. These questions will let you know the kind of person you’re dealing with in terms of their skills and support. We have put together a list of ten things to ask your designer before the project begins. Read on to discover more.

1. Ask your designer for their experience 

When you are looking for a designer for your website project, you must always evaluate their portfolio. You want to know their level of experience. One thing for a fact when it comes to website design or graphic design is that you don’t want to work with an amateur who’s just trying to test their skills. You want someone who has experience.

Experience matters a lot when selecting a designer. You want a professional designer who understands this industry better and one who will give you more insights into making your project absolutely outstanding.

Most of the time, people tend to only look at the number of years the designer has been in the industry. That’s not enough! There’s a lot that goes into the experience of a designer. You want to know about their style, so ask about it and identify whether it matches what you want or not.

Always ask the web designer to show you their portfolio to identify whether their previous work matches with the kind of style you need. That way, you will be sure about who is working on your project.

2. Ask if they have a process in place 

As a client, you need to be involved in your project as your designer is working on it. Therefore, this means that you want to work with a designer with an established process to keep you in the know as the project is ongoing.

You don’t want to work with someone, who works “silently” on your project delivers the final product without a single update about the work. A trustworthy designer has a design process that must follow like an alphabet. The process should be in written form, or at least once that can be verbally explained to you.

If they cannot explain their process to you, run! Therefore, you must always ask for their process before the project begins.

3. Ask if they are available to work on your project

When it comes to selecting the best web designer, you want someone available to work on your project. You don’t want someone who will put your project pending and delay it for months because they don’t have enough time to work on it.

You need a designer who has plenty of time to work on your project. Plenty of time can actually mean that your designer won’t be in a hurry to complete your project, instead, he will take his time to ensure a high-quality result. Now high-quality is something you’re highly unlikely to get when you are working with someone who doesn’t have enough time.

However, there is something you really need to understand here. Good designers are always on demand, so they might be working on plenty of projects. So don’t dismiss them if they tell you to wait for a couple of days or weeks before they can start working on your project.

Also, don’t just make a fast decision to work with a client who tells you that they can begin your project the next day. Take that as a red flag.

4. Ask if you can contact them

The design does not stop with the completion of the project, there are a few updates that you might need in the future. Therefore, you want to work with someone with a reliable contact. A designer with a reliable contact option can easily be contacted in case of any problem with your design or if your design requires an update.

A good designer is willing to give you their reliable contact option because they want to offer you support with your design and work with you to improve your design in your future.

The designer should be willing to get into a long-term relationship with you at a lower cost. So, be sure to check their hourly pricing or contracts before your project begins. You can sign up for one of their favorable plans.

5. Ask if they will provide you with the original graphics files

This is another of the important things to ask your designer before the project begins. Ask if they will supply original graphics files, such as files produced with PhotoShop, Illustrator, and any other graphics program. These files will give you control of your site, thus, making it easier for you to do simple editing.

6. Ask if they offer revisions

Revisions are of ultimate importance for any web design. Sometimes, you might end up with a design that you’re not happy with or one that requires further edits. So, you want to work with a designer who offers revisions – these can be up to three rounds. Ask the designer about their hourly rates should your design require further edits.

7. Ask if they offer maintenance 

This is another of the important questions that you should ask your designer. You want to know if they offer a maintenance after the initial build. Regular maintenance is one of the most critical components of a successful website.

Designers offer different packages with different features. If you want regular professional maintenance go for the maintenance package. Alternatively, if you believe you can handle the required edits and updates, you might want to ask the designer to use a platform that you’re familiar to.

8. Ask about the deadline

Every project must have a deadline. A good designer has a good track record with the deadlines. Asking about the deadline is particularly important if you’re looking for urgent t completion of a project. The question does not hold much value if you’re on a flexible schedule.

Therefore, if you feel the deadline is of ultimate importance, it is wise to ask your designer about it before the project begins.

9. Ask if they outsource 

Outsourcing is common these days. When it comes to web design, you want to know if the designer outsources any part of the project. The decision to outsource depends on the scope of the project. if a project has a huge scope, let’s say you need graphic design and probably content in addition to the design, the designer might decide to outsource a part of the project to other professionals.

10. Ask if reserve all the rights

The designer should and must allow you to reserve all the rights of the project upon completion. He must hand over all the files to you once the project is complete. If a designer is not willing to transfer all the rights to you, run!

Conclusion 

There you have it. Those are the most important things to ask your designer before your project begins. Be sure to evaluate their portfolio to identify if their previous work has the vibe closer to what you’re looking for. As about their design process that will help them keep you updated about the progress of the project and their most reliable contact option. The designer should transfer all the rights to you as well.

 

 

 

10 Tips for Online Business Success

Introduction  

Today, technology has made it possible for people to start and run online businesses. We have so many online entrepreneurs across the globe and more people are ditching the nine to five mentality. It is common to find many businesses selling the same products online. Therefore, finding the best ways that will make you stand out in the crowd is important.

Every online business is looking to achieve tremendous success. Those that do not experience growth end up failing within their first few years. There is a lot of effort that goes into winning customers. The most important thing to do is to make sure that your customers feel appreciated.

When customers feel valued, then they will become loyal to you and they will always want to conduct business with you. Loyal and happy customers will refer other people to your business and this means growth for your business.

Starting and running an online business is not just about building a website and showcasing your products or services. You need to have a true understanding of what it takes to build a successful online business. In this blog post, we have put together 10 tips for online business success. Read on to discover more.

1. Come up with a plan

Every business requires a plan, whether an online business or not. Most people tend to think that a plan is not necessary for an online business. Well, how will you know the direction that you want to take, the things that you need to do and the goals for your business?

A plan gives you direction towards achieving your goals. In the plan, you need to set clear goals and take time to understand what it will take to achieve those goals. Now, you don’t want to get into business without having goals, because you will be doing it for the sake of doing it.

Without goals, you’re setting yourself up for a major failure. You’re more likely to achieve success in your online business with a clear plan than without. Also, you need to stick to the plan that you set for yourself.

In your plan, figure out your budget, how you’re going to spend it, and which tasks you need to be done every day. A plan is crucial to the success of an online business.

2. Invest in an excellent internet connection

You’re running an online business, thus you will need a high-speed internet connection. Excellent connectivity is essential for running an online business. How can you achieve success in your online business with a low-speed internet connection?

An excellent internet connection ensures you’re able to update your content regularly, engage with your customers in real-time, and ensure your business is running smoothly at any time of the day or night.

Unscheduled outages can significantly affect your business. Your customers and potential customers alike will perceive that you’re not running a professional business and that you’re not professional as well. Therefore, they will move on to your competitors.

You must invest in a high-speed internet connection for online business success. If you’re facing unscheduled outages have the capacity to address them as fast as possible.

3. Build a great website

Every online business requires a website. There are numerous websites on the internet today. Some look great and welcoming, while others give us a bad perception of the business immediately after we open them.

Now, you need to know that your website is often the first thing potential customers will see. Therefore, it must leave a good first impression if you want to convert those potential customers into actual customers. Remember, you don’t have a second chance to make a good first impression. Thus, you want people to remain with your business the very first time they see your website.

It’s now easier than ever to build a website. You can use a platform like WordPress to build yours without any programming skills. You can also opt to hire a professional web designer who will design and build a professional website for you.

Web design and usability are those elements that you must take into account in order to run a successful online business.

4. Create great content 

Web design is important for online business success. Once you have a great website, you need to come up with high-quality content and publish it on your website. Content must be unique, relevant, interesting, educational and engaging.

Prospects are always looking for unique and useful content. They want content that will add value to them. It doesn’t matter if you have the best web design in the world if users can’t find what they are looking for in blogs, infographics, videos, podcasts and other kinds of posts.

When it comes you need to have a calendar which you will use to schedule your content. Scheduling your content includes what type of content to publish, where to publish and when to publish. Your content must address the various user’s questions and keep them yearning for more content.

High-quality and unique content will draw more traffic to your website and help you build authority in your industry.  

You want to makes you’re utilizing Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which will help boost your visibility, generate more web traffic, lead to more conversions and build your online business’s reputation.

5. Know your competition 

Do you know about your competition? If you want to achieve success in your online business, you must know your competition. Well, that doesn’t mean that you’re losing focus of your business, you just to know what your competitors are doing and how you can do it even better.

You want to know why customers are choosing your competitors over you or vice versa. The internet makes it easier for you to know your competitors and what they’re doing. Your competitors are on social media channels and they are publishing lots of content on those channels. So, you should look at their keyword usage by using a variety of tools that are available on Google.

6. Leverage social media to establish an online presence

This is another of our great tips for online business success. Online businesses have realized the power of social media. Social media has become so powerful that all types of businesses are establishing their profiles to market their products. That’s why we have something known as social media marketing.

Social media can help you establish a strong online presence. This is happening through creating a social media profile that is consistent with your website and publishing great content that will engage, educate and provide value to your customers and prospects alike.

Your customers are on social media, so if you’re not on social media how will they know that you exist? So, you need to be on social media to be seen by your customers. Different social media platforms suit different businesses, therefore, research your industry to figure out where your customers are spending most of their time.

7. Protect your online reputation

Your business has established a strong online presence, now what you need to do is to protect its online reputation. Online businesses rely on a reputation for more sales, growth and ultimate success. Protecting your brand’s reputation can happen in the form of being aware of all notifications of your brand.

You want to be aware of any mention of your business. You need to set firm branding and social media guidelines so that whoever is managing your social media knows what is expected of them.

You need to engage with your customers in real-time and deal with all of their complaints promptly.

8. Over-deliver 

You need to over-deliver on your promises right from the start. This will lead to great first impressions which are vital to establishing your business in your industry. Here, you need to exceed your customers’ expectations.

The first few months of your business are not about making profits, instead, they are about building strong relationships with customers, prospects and other people in the industry. It is always important to start by under-promising and then surprising your first clients with results that surpass their expectations.

9. Reach out for help

The online world can be tough for some business owners. There’s a lot that you need to know and do, but that doesn’t mean you have to know everything. There are experts out there who you can reach out to for help. There are experts in content creation, social media marketing, website design, SEO, etc.

If you don’t have certain skills to complete certain tasks, consider reaching out to someone that is a professional or an expert.

10. Stay focused and be persistent 

Focus and persistence are a must for any type of business. There is nothing as an overnight success. Focus and persistence will pay off in the end if you continue to do what is required of you. Learn from mistakes as fast as you can and implement new strategies in pursuit of your goals.

Conclusion 

Running an online business requires a lot of effort, especially when you’re just starting. Take time to learn and evolve and you will on the right path towards achieving success. Online business success is possible if you employ all the relevant tips that we have talked about.