Having worked with a few clients now, I have realized that not everyone is ready to work with a web designer, despite having a company, idea, or brand in mind. This guide will be useful for anyone out there ready to jump into the digital world with their new site and how to properly provide your web designer (why not EntoDigital?!) with everything needed to make the process as pain-free as possible!

Take a look below and use it as a bit of a checklist for you and your future website.

1. Define Your Goals and Objectives: 🎯

- Determine the purpose of your website. Is it for business, portfolio showcasing, e-commerce, informational, etc.?
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- Identify your target audience and what actions you want them to take on your website.
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- Set measurable goals that you want your website to achieve, such as increasing sales, generating leads, improving brand awareness, etc.

2. Budget Allocation: 💵

- Determine a realistic budget for your website project. Research typical costs for web design services in your region.
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- Consider ongoing costs such as hosting, domain registration, and maintenance.

3. Gather Inspiration: 💭
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- Collect examples of websites you like and dislike. Note design elements, layouts, colors, and functionalities that appeal to you. Provide more information than, “I want to be like Apple!” as that still doesn’t paint a clear picture of the design you want.

- Share these examples with your web designer to convey your preferences and expectations. Having a mood board on your favorite platform would help a lot, and EntoDigital actually includes a space for this in every Client Portal!

4. Content Preparation: 🧺

- Gather all the content you want to include on your website, such as text, images, videos, and downloadable files (guides, documents, etc.).

- Ensure your content is high-quality, relevant, and aligned with your brand identity. Of course, EntoDigital will go through and check it all, and make changes to it if you are open to that.

- Prepare clear and concise messaging for each page or section of your website. Entice people on the Landing Page, educate people about you and your brand on the About page, and so on.

5. Branding Assets: 🎨

- Provide your web designer with your company logo, brand colors, fonts, and any other branding guidelines.

- If you don't have branding assets, discuss with the designer about creating them or refining your brand identity with their design skill and experience.

6. Technical Requirements: ⚙️

- Determine any specific technical requirements for your website, such as e-commerce functionality, integrations with third-party services, or special features. This is all stuff in the backend that your site visitors won't see, but your web designer will need to look into to properly implement it.

- Discuss these requirements with your web designer to ensure they are feasible and within your budget.

7. Domain and Hosting: 💻

- Decide on a domain name for your website if you don't already have one.

- Choose a reliable hosting provider that meets your needs in terms of performance, security, and scalability. EntoDigital uses Hostinger (not a partner), which has proven to make the site fast and pass Google’s Lighthouse tests.

- Provide your web designer with access to your domain and hosting account if necessary. A temporary password can be set during the development and testing phase and changed after.

8. Timeline Expectations: ⌛

- Discuss your desired timeline for the project with your web designer.

- Be realistic about the time it takes to design, develop, and launch a website.

- Factor in time for revisions, testing, and feedback rounds.

9. Communication Channels: 🗣️

- Establish clear communication channels with your web designer, such as email, phone calls, or project management tools like EntoDigital’s Client Portal.

- Agree on how often you will receive updates on the progress of the project and how feedback will be provided.

10. Legal and Compliance Considerations: ⚖️

- Ensure your website complies with relevant laws and regulations, such as data protection (GDPR), accessibility standards (WCAG), and industry-specific requirements. These differ depending on where your company is based, so make sure you are on top of this.

- Discuss with your web designer any legal disclaimers, terms of service, or privacy policies that need to be included on your website. There are multiple ways to get these made for you, so research and use what best works for you and your site.

11. Feedback and Revision Process: 🚧

- Understand the feedback and revision process outlined by your web designer.

- Provide timely and constructive feedback to ensure the project stays on track and meets your expectations. Clear and constructive feedback helps this phase go smoothly and keep relations positive and healthy.

12. Setting Time Aside: ⏲️

- Getting a website up is a lot more than just wanting it and having a company or idea. The gathering of content, planning, and more take a lot of time on your end to get things right.

- Your designer will provide their design and development skills to get things right, and that is where your time into planning everything will pay off.

- Taking time to gather what is required will indeed push back deadlines as your designer will most likely be busy with other clients, and you may end up waiting for them to catch up to get back to you.

By following these steps and adequately preparing before engaging with a web designer, you can ensure a smoother and more successful website development process. Effective communication and collaboration between you and your web designer are key to achieving your desired outcome.